As Table 5,5 shows, the numbers of black students pursuing degrees through Unisa almost ...

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Table 5.5:Black enrolments atattendance institutions andatUnisa, 1959.1970252
Year Attendance Unisa %oftotalat %of.Africanstudents
universities Unisa enrolled atUnisa
~959 2145 2.064 49 67
1960 2377 2004 46 60
1961 2462 2195 48 61
1965 3474 2612 43 54
1966 4235 3138 43 54
1968 4730 3875 45 58
1969 5245 3618 41 55
1970 5946 3987 40 52
As Table 5,5 shows, the numbers ofblack students pursuing degrees through Unisa
almost doubled over the 1960s, despite the growth instudent enrolments at
attendance institutions. Itis also notable that the proportion ofAfrican students
dependent on Unisa to further their education remained high. The significance of
these trends is discussed inmore detail in Chapter 7.
252.My calculations, based 011SOUUlAfrican Instltuteof'Ruce Relations (1960·1970)Asurvey of'raae
relations illSOllthA/rica. SAIRR. Johannesburg.
Chapter 6
Th~ creation of the University of Port Elizabeth and the Rand
Afrikaans University
In the 196003the National Party (NP) Government established two new universities
for whites. These were the dual-medium University ofPort Elizabeth (UPE), which
opened in 1965, and the Rand Afrikaans University (RAU), which opened in 1968.
These policies originatec inthe broader Afrikaner Nationalist movement rather
than within the NP Government andwere adopted to promote specifically
Afrikaans interests.
In the 1960s new priorities and processes emerged in Government uni.versity
policy. Although the needs of Afrikaans students had been advanced inthe 1950s,
through the opening ofaFaculty ofEngineering atPretoria University in 1955
while at Stellenbosch new faculties ofMedicine, Forestry andMilitary Science
opened in 1956 and aDentistry Faculty was planned (which opened in 1962), it
was only inthe 1960s that the establishment of entirely new institutions for white
students, particularly Afrikaans students, was even contemplated. Another major
shift was that the initiative to establish the new white universities came not from
the Government but from the broader Afrikaner Nationalist movement, with the
Afrikaner Broederbond andkey Afrikaner capitalists playing acentral role.
6.1 Changes inthe economicand :>oliticalcontext ill the 1960s
The new priorities inGovernment university policy were related to the challenges
and opportunities of South Africa's phenomenal economic growth inthe 1960s, as
well as changes inthe domestic and international political arenas.
The shootings of pass protesters at Sharpeville on 21 March 1960 and the
attempted assassination ofVerwoerd lessthan three weeks later unnerved
economic stability. The Johannesburg Stock Exchange index fell sharply and over
the next months foreign capital drained away. With foreign exchange reserves
287
down to R153 million,the Government introduced exchange controls, which
finally halted economic growth. The economic and political comeback from these
days was dramatic. Verwoerd recovered hishealth andthe Government suppressed
African opposition. InMay 1961with the majority ofthe white electorate's
support, South Africa became aRepublic and subsequently leftthe
Commonwealth. The departure ofcapital was stemmed bylate 1961 and white
emigration was soon outstripped byimmigration, sothat by 1974the vhite
population was 1.16millionup onits 1960figure of3 million. On average, the
economy grew by5.9 per cent annually over the 1960s, with anaverage annual
increase inper capita incomes of2.9 per cent. By the close ofthe decade, white
South Africans were among the most affluent group.sinthe world.1
For Afrikaner Nationalists, itmust have been aparticular disappointment that
despite phenomenal economic advance, average Afrikaner income stilltrailed
behind that ofother whites, risingfrom 100:128 inthe mid 1930s (shortly prior to
the first Ekonomicse Volkskongres in 1939) to merely 100:126 in 1960. The failure
to narrow the gap between Afrikaans and other white income meshed with
concerns about the increasingly urban character ofthe Afrikaner electorate. In
1904, only sixper cent ofthe Afrikaans population livedintowns, rising to 44 per
cent in 1936 and 76per cent in 1960. Afrikaner Nationalism had been forged in an
agrarian past which was increasingly irrelevant to the urban Afrikaner electorate.
This coincided with "ltherthreats to Afrikaner cohesion, such asparadoxically, the
attainment ofthe central goal oftheRepublic andthe emergence ofa wealthy class
ofAfrikaner capitalists (who controlled, for example, 28 pf'r cent of commerce in
1964 compared to eight per cent in 1939 and 14per cent offinance compared to
only five per cent in 1939).2The loss of 'Boer' identity, the central unifying goal
and classless cohesion, challenged Afrikaner Nationalist leaders to preserve and
reinvent Afrikaner loyaltyto the NP. Widely differing approaches emerged to these
challenges, with the 'liberalism' and 'internationalism' ofcapitalists, such asAnton
Rupert, the founder oftheRembrandt Tobacco Corporation and the most
1.Johnson, RW (1978) How long willSouthAfrica sl/lvive? Macmillan, Loudon, p28.
2.Welsh, D (1969) 'Urbanization andthesolidarity ofAfrikaner Nationalism" Journal ofModem African
Studies, Volume 7,Number 2,p270.
288
prominent Afrikaner industrialist ofthe 1960s who criticised Verwoerd over'
oJ
Sharpsville crisis, on one extreme andthe introspective conservatism ofthe
'verkrampte' tendency onthe other.
Political debates over these approaches and economic development held practical
implications for Afrikaner Nationalists contesting university policy.For example
Anton Rupert was concerned about the skillsshortage in South Africa and wrote
about the need to develop 'human capital',3 which chimed with callsbythe head of
the University Advisory Committee, the Stellenbosch physicist AC Cilliers, that in
the context ofthe Cold War andthe Space Race, South Africa needed to keep up
with scientific advance:
Any modem industrialised country ... which neglects to make timely and
adequate provision for training sufficient numbers ofgifted young people to
fillthe numerous relevant kevpositions, willsoon finditselflagging
hopelessly behind itsrivals and competitors inthe struggle tor national
existence."
Political changes andthe economic boom thus provided Afrikaner Nationalists with
both the stimuli andresources to review the Government's provision ofwhite
university education. Itwas illthis context that Verwoerd's Cabinet became
amenable to local campaigns for new white universities onthe Witwatersrand and
inPort Elizabeth.
6.2 Local campaigns inPort Elizabeth and onthe Witwatersrand
Inlate 1962, the Minister ofEducation, Senator Jan deKlerk, dispatched
commissioners to Johannesburg andPort Elizabeth, to investigate local campaigns
for new university facilities. The quinquennial review ofuniversity finances interms
ofthe Holloway formula was inprogress under AC Cilliers,' but itsreport was not
3.Rupert, A(1966) ,'nBelegging inMenslike Kapitaal' inVolkshandel, Mny.
4. Cilliers, AC(1963) Report oflitecommittee ojenquiry intoquinquennial revision ojuniversity subsidy
formulae, Department ofEducation, Arts andScience, Government Printer, Pretoria, p71.
5.Cilliers was arather controversial political maverick, described bytheDictionary ofSouth African
Biography asa'restless genius'. Trained inStellenbosch and inGmnany, headopted aneclectic runge of
Continued ...
289
expected until mid-1963. The previous report, in 1958, had made it clear that the
establishment ofnew universities for whites was too expensive for the Government
to consider. The camoa g~;~th'at resulted inthe establishment ofRAU and UPE
were both launched it;thi- ..eriod offinancialrestraint, and both considered
expanding and adapting exitting universities to meet localneeds, before changing
to campaign for independent universities.
By the late 1950s the cityofPort Elizabeth had outstripped its origins as atown
established bythe English 1820 settlers. Its earlyeronomlc development had been
based around the sea, but from the 1870s itsproximity to the interior and good rail
links to the diamond fields saw itsprosperity increase. From the earlytwentieth
century the citywas often chosen as alocation for factories established by
European and American firms, and inthe 1920sitbecame the centre ofthe
country's automobile industry. WhilePort Elizabeth retained itspredominantly
English character, the neighbouring inland town of'Uitenhage, which had been
established by the Cape Government inthe earlynineteenth century as an outpost
to protect trekkers, remained predominantly Afrikaans. Uitenhage's economy was
largely based on agriculture, with little inthe way ofindustry except for some
services linked to the railways. From the early 1960s, the economies of'both areas
were boosted bythe Government's policy ofimport substitution, which demanded,
for example, that more parts for the motor industry were manufactured, rather than
simply assembled, inSouth Africa."
Although itwas the largest cityinthe region, Port Elizabeth had no university
facilities ofits own. From the 1930sRhodes University held public lectures once a
term inPort Elizabeth that were very popular andwell attended. As early as 1936
anNP candidate inthe Port Elizabeth North constituency inthe provincial
political positions. including promoting unitybetween Malan andHertzog inthelate 19305,helping
Havenga formtheAfrikaner Party. supporting Smutswhen Japan entered theWar.He wasafounder
member ofSabra butturned against theNP whenColoureds wereremoved fromtheConunon Roll inthe
Cape. His sister wasmarried totheMPAHJonker, whosepolitical position altered almost as frequently as
his own. SeeBeyers, CJ(ed.)(1977, 1981and 1987)Dictionary ofSouthAfrican Biography. Volnme V,
Human Sciences Research Council,Pretoria.
6.Adler, G(1994) "'111efactorybelongs toallwhoworkinit":Race, Class andCollective Action inthe
South African MotorIndustry, 1967.1986'. unpublished PhDThesis, Columbia University, Chapter 3.
290
elections backed callsfor 1university inthe city, Over the next two decades little
progress was made. Approaches to Rhodes University to expand to Port Elizabeth
foundered, possibly because, asarecent unpublished history onthe University of
Port Elizabeth byThea Rautenbach implies, members ofthe Rhodes Council were
also frequently members ofthe Grahamstown Town Council, who regarded any
division ofthe focus ofRhodes University inGrahamstown asathreat to the town
itself. They often referred to the way inwhich the Durban branch ofthe University
ofNatal had outstripped the branch inPlerermaritzburg."
Inthe mid 1950s talk ofa 'technical skillsshortage' revived interest inuniversity
development inthe city.In 1956 there were aspate ofarticles inthe local press
about the shortage ofengineers in South Africa ingeneral andinPen Elizabeth in
particular, atheme picked up bythe head ofthe Port Elizabeth Technical College,
Professor MNS Imrnelman. From 1957lmmelman tried to force the issue by
offering part-time lectures through the Technical College inarchitecture, science
and accounting, but theDepartment ofEducation, Arts and Science'' refused to
provide funding for the scheme and asked himto stop."
As asecond strategy, inMay 1957Immelman persuaded the mayor ofPort
Elizabeth, Struan Robertson, to askRhodes Council to approach the Minister of
Education for permission to extend their activities to Port Elizabeth.10Accordingly,
in 1958 RW Wilcocks andPJ duToit, respectively the head anddeputy head of the
University Advisory Committee, investigated the proposals for the Government.
Wilcocks andDu Toit recommended that faculties and departments shoul., be
established that didnot already exis, in Grahamstown, but despite representations
from the Port Elizabeth Chamber ofCommerce, theMidland Chamber of
Industries andthe Afrikaanse Sakekamer, which allexpressed concern about a
skilled manpower shortage, they ruled out Engineering, Medicine andAgriculture.
As a.result ofthe investigation, permission for Rhodes to establish a.division in
7.Rautenbach, T(1995) 'Die stigting enaanvangsjare vandieUniversiteit vanPortElizabeth' ,unpublished
PhD Thesis, University ofPortElizabeth, Chapter 1.
8.Hereafter Department ofEducation,
9.Rautenbach, opcit.
10.Currey, RF, 1970,Rilodes University 1904-197f1,Rustica Press, Gruhamstown, pl4S.
291
Port Elizabeth was granted inthe Rhodes Act, No.6 of 1960. The Act stipulated
that ifRhodes operated inPort Elizabeth, it should do Sowith 'due regard ... to
the needs of Afrikaans-speaking students'." Classes atthe Port Elizabeth Division
of'Rnodes commenced in 1961Y
At this stage, civichopes for the further development ofuniversity facilities inPert
Elizabeth were apparently based on the Rhodes branch. I'he Port Elizabeth City
Council agreed early in1961 to increase its annual grant the Rhodes branch and,
for the sum oftwo Rand, gave Rhodes a 500 acre site atDriftsands to develop.
But there was stillastrong feeling inPort E!izabeth that Engineering should be
taught inthe city, so inJune 1961 the Nationalist mayor ofPort Elizabeth, Monty
van der Vyfer, called together members ofthe Port Elizabeth City Council and
representatives ofvarious bodies and decided to campaign for aFaculty of
Engineering, aspart ofRhodes, to be established inPort Elizabeth. When
approached, Rhodes responded that Wilcocks had specifically ruled out
Engineering, which meant that itwas unlikely that the necessary government
permission to establish anew faculty would be forthcoming. Rhodes nevertheless
asked De KIerk for hisview, who saidthat even if'the funds to establish an
Engineering faculty could be raised locally inPort Elizabeth, there w- 'estill 1200
unfilled places at existing Engineering faculties elsewhere inthe country."
In December 1960 the Rhodes Professor ofEducation, JJ (Koos) Gerber, had
written to Vorster to warn himthat 'certain Rhodes academics' at the Port
Elizabeth branch had close 'PAC-ANC-Nusas' links and that they could have a
'liberal influence onyoung Afrikaners' attending the branch. Norman Bromberger,
then aRhodes academic inPort Elizabeth and probably one ofthe 'liberal
influences' to whom Gerber referred (see below), recalls that Gerber was
11.Robbertse, PMandErasmus, JA,'Verslag vankomitee vanondersoek nauniversiteitsgeriewe tePort
Elizabeth', 22November 1962,Pretoria, UOD0413/1,p4. All translations fromtheAfrikaans documents
aremine.
12.Rhodes had countedonreceiving amore generous government subsidyforItsPortElizabeth activities,
inthe same wayasthetwosections oftheUniversity ofNatal, which forsubsidypurposes wasregarded as
twoseparate institutions. Thisextra financial assistance fromtheGovernment wasnotforthcoming, butthe
City Council .nadeUi? someoftheshortfall.
13.Rautenbuch, opcit.
292
somewhat mysterious, because ofthe rumours about hiscloseness to
Vorster, having been indetention with him during the War ... and also as a
bit of ajoke - ahuge overweight fellow, with asmallhign-pitched voice ...
also rumoured to be ahopeless academic."
There were some low-key rumblings during 1961 about Rhodes' sole use of
English as amedium oftuition, which were taken up byDie Oosterlig. GJ van
Vollenhoven, the local manager ofthe Saambou Building Society, had encouraged
his staff to enrol for Commerce degrees through the Rhodes branch, but
complained that they failed because tuition was not available inAfrikaans and they
registered with Unisa instead. Rhodes responded that when numbers justified it,
classes would be offered inAfrikaans. GraduaUy resentment against the Rhodes
branch gained momentum. InFebruary 1962 De Klerk responded
unsympathetically to an appeal from Afrikaans parents for facilities inPort
Elizabeth, saying that there were other, larger Afrikaans populations, that there
were enough universities andthat inany case itwas too expensive.'? Itappeared
that the Government was not amenable to appeals for further university
development inPort Elizabeth.
But in early 1962, when Rhodes published itsR4 million ten-year development
plan, the Port Elizabeth CityCouncil was disappointed to learn that nothing except
alarger library was planned for the Rhodes Division inthe city. Atthe same time
Immelman, who had beenDean of Studies fnr the Rhodes branch inPort Elizabeth,
resigned, protesting that Grahamstown-based riterests were 'sabotaging the Port
Elizabeth efforts'
.16
InMay 1962 Van der Vyfer, particularly disappointed that the Rhodes plans
showed no commitment to pursuing the establishment of anEngineering faculty,
submitted yet another appeal to the Government after discussions with the Midland
Chamber of Industries, thePort Elizabeth Chamber of Commerce and the
14.Bromberger, N,personal communication, September 1998.
15.Ibid.
16.Robbertse andErasmus, opcit.,pl0.
293
Afrikaanse Sakekamer. He also made anew appeal for aMedical faculty after
consultations with the local branch ofthe South African Medical Association. The
Secretary ofEducation advised Van der Vyfer that the Cabinet had decided in early
May 1962 not to set up new universities. On Irnn "'man's ~~,ggestion,Van der
Vyfer then recast his submission to appeal for a dual medium, independent
institution, because 'ifwe are going to make a success ofthis Republic we must
bring the two white races together'. On 28 July 1962 De Klerk nevertheless
responded negatively, on economic grounds.F
Unofficially, however, bythis time De KIerk har' oeen convinced that there was a
need to develop anew university rather than allowing Rhodes to build on its
foothold inthe city.ls
The exact nature ofthis 'unofficial' pressure, and inparticular, the nature and
extent ofBroederbond involvement, isunclear. In TheSuper Afrikaners Wilkins
and Strydom wrote that in 1961 (i,e., 'the year that the Rhodes branch was
established', but they probably meant 1962),
[L]eatling Broeders inthe Eastern Province held a secret meeting on a
Steytierville farm. It was decided that Rhodes be closed down inPort
Elizabeth and the Government be asked, for tactical reasons, to establish a
bilingual university there instead."
Pelzer's history ofthe organisation also states that senior Broederbonders were
involved inthe campaign. A central claim of'Rautenbach's unpublished thesis on
the University ofPort Elizabeth, however, isthat 'allegations that the Afrikaner
Broederbond planned the new university was [sic] however false'_20 Gerrit
Viljoen's view isthat the Broederbond played 'a limited role' inthe establishment
ofUPE and recalled that 'quite anumber ofleading people there were not
members ofthe Broederbond asfar as I know'r" Rautenbach's thesis is probably
17.Rautenbach, 0)1cit.
1S.Ibid.
19.Wilkins, IandStrydom,H, 1978,TireSuper-Afrikaners, Jonathan Ball, Johannesburg, p422.
20.Rautenbach, 'Summary' 0)1cit.
21. Viljoen, GVN(1995)First Rector ofRandse Afrikaanse Universiteit, former chairman of'the
Broederbond; interviewed inPretoria, January 1995.
294
strictly accurate, andthat there was no formal, official campaign by the
Broederbond inPort Elizabeth and the surrounding areas for anindependent
university. The campaign inPort Elizabeth had both a different organisational
methodology and ideological goals to that onthe Witwatersrand, which was
without doubt aBroederbond project. However, Viljoen's description of the style
ofBroederbond influence fits exactly the nature of the UPE campaign:
The Broederbond tried to stimulate and influence its members to apply
approaches and methods that would lead to the benefit ofthe Afrikaner in
their dailytasks, but it didn't do the work. The Broederbond didn't do the
work. It stimulated its leaders intheir normal daily activity to do what can
be motivated asinthe interest ofthe Afrikaner.22
From Viljoen's perspective, the more high profile 'Broederbond' character of the
RAU campaign isascribed to the personality of'Piet Meyer. Even if'the
Broederbond per sewas not officially involved inthe UPE campaign, it is
undoubtedly the case, asRautenbach himself describes inminute detail, that some
cfthe Broederbond andAfrikaner Nationalism's most senior figures inthe eastern
Cape threw their weight behind the campaign from early 1962.
The most prominent ofthese individuals was JADelport, aBroederbonder and the
eastern Cape manager of the Afrikaans financial house Sanlam. Delport was
spurred to action by an'incident' atRhodes inearly 1962. Details ofthis
significant 'incident' are suggestively unclear inRautenbach's account, who wrote
that
The father ofacertain Afrikaans lady student, probably Miss E Marais of
George, refused to pay for her [compulsory fee for automatic membership
ofNusas] and she intimidated bythe SRC.23
V'~\~
Rautenbach points out that while acontemporaneous account (by JI Engelbrecht,
see below) gave the name ofthe student as Gerber, there was no student enrolled
bythat name in 1962. (Gerber was, however, t'" name ofthe ultra-conservative
Professor ofEducation, who opposed both to Rhodes andNusas.) When inMarch
22. Ibid.
23.Rautenbacn, op« ,
295