Heimat – home of NWU Arts

Heimat is the first permanent structure and brick building to be built on the campus of the Potchefstroom University College (PUC). It was officially taken into use in 1927 as a residence for 50 students.

It nowadays houses NWU Arts, the very important organisational body behind huge productions on the Potchefstroom campus of the North-West University (NWU) such as the NWU Talent Festival, the First Year concerts and the Sêr competitions.

Backstory

The roots of the PUC go back to the founding of the Theological School of the Reformed Church on 29 November 1869 in Burgersdorp. The fledgling church (founded in 1859) early on decided that a theological school for the Church is a priority.

It opened with five students and two lecturers. Classes were held in the outbuildings of the parsonage of the church in Burgersdorp. In 1877 a literary department was established with the aim to educate students to qualify for academic degrees.

By the end of the 19^th century the synod of the Church was discussing the relocation of the school since the congregation of Burgersdorp was strained to support the School.

The trek to Potchefstroom

Shortly after the Anglo-Boer War the Theological School relocated to Potchefstroom. On 13 February 1905 the official opening took place in its newly built premises in Molen Street. (See my article on the Molen Street Complex. https://lenniegouws.co.za/theological-school-complex-heavy-with-history/ ) One of the advocates for the relocation to Potchefstroom was the minister of the Potchefstroom Reformed Church, Dr JD (Japie) du Toit. He was later better known as the poet Totius. (Read more about him at: https://lenniegouws.co.za/street-names-reflect-history-13-t/ )

By 1913 the curators were struggling to keep the Theological School financially afloat. A government subsidy was granted on condition that the Literary Department and the Theological School be separated. From April 1919 the Literary Department became known as Het Potchefstroomse Universiteitskollege voor Christelike Hooger Onderwijs (Potchefstroom University College for Christian Higher Education – PUC).

The land on which the campus of the PUC arose was donated to the college in 1921 by the town council of Potchefstroom and regarded as a “generous gift”. Prof APC Duvenage, professor in Nature Sciences at the PUC, also being the mayor of Potchefstroom from 1920 to 1922, was in all probability the mediator to effect this donation.

The PUC was only able to relocate to these premises two years later, in 1923. This was after eight second-hand corrugated iron and wood structures were bought from the army. These structures, known as cantonments, were imported from India during and shortly after the Anglo-Boer War to house the large military presence Britain had in South Africa. The structures were made from jarrah wood and imported from Poona and Karachi in India, where monsoon rains necessitated that the structures be raised off the ground so that the flood waters could pass under. It was re-erected in South Africa in the same manner.

On the PUC campus seven of these structures were positioned to form two quadrangles. The most southern of these stood where the Totius Hall is now, with the northern end where the Uitsig Residence was later built. Incidentally those were the last to be pulled down. These structures were used as class rooms, laboratories, offices and a library.

The eighth structure stood where the Main Building (https://lenniegouws.co.za/nwu-main-building-the-icon-of-potch/ ) is now and was used as a residence, known by the students as “Ons Huis” (Our House). This was built in 1925.

One of the first residents of Heimat in 1966 recalled in Die Besembos how excited the students were when they heard that a brick and mortar residence was to be built:

How many realised in the early years how much had to be sacrificed by living in poor, decrepit little buildings (more like caves) that were mostly just a roof over our heads with tin walls and non-existent ventilation. How many knew that students in the past, when a room was presented to them, they should buy their furniture such as a bed, table, wash stand and wardrobe themselves. Our residences were made from tin, our lecture halls were made thereof and our whole environment presented a very shabby appearance.

Can you imagine that the editor of Die Besembos wrote in 1925 that he heard from trusted sources that the Council of the University decided to erect a residence from baked earth, yes, from bricks?

Specifications ‘much too crude’

With student numbers rising from 50 to 198 from 1921 to 1926, a residence was sorely needed. After money was acquired from the government in 1925, the wheels were set in motion for the building of a residence.

The story was told in Wonderdaad…!:

Money matters were put in order and tenders were requested for the building. Since this was the first time this needed to be done, the tender documents suffered from many deficiencies. A local building contractor spent much time with the document, but in the end decided not to put in a tender since the specifications were ‘much too crude’.

After the second contractor experienced the same problems and at the insistence of a union, the assistance of a specialist in this field was called in. The Pretoria architect Gerhard Moerdyk (sometimes spelled Moerdijk) on instructions from the Council, compiled a tender document of 24 pages. All-in-all 13 tenders were received with tender amounts that ranged from £5 892 to £8 809.

This was well over the initial estimate of the PUC of £3 000 and the government was again approached for assistance.

According to Wonderdaad…! the government was willing to fund the project with £8 500 (the PUC requested £10 000), but could not promise when the money would be available.

The design of Gerhard Moerdyk was accepted. He is one of the best-known South African architects and designed the Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria. Apart from buildings at the Universities of Pretoria and the Orange Free State, he also contributed to the design of the Johannesburg Station and designed many church buildings and town halls in the northern regions of South Africa. In 1940 he also designed Libertas, it then being the official residence of the Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa. Later it became the official residence of the State President of the Republic of South Africa. In 1995 it was renamed by President Nelson Mandela as Mahlamba Ndlopfu, meaning “new dawn” in the Tsonga language.

Wonderdaad…! continued:

By scrimping and saving – which the PUC had turned into an art form – the residence could be built (by C Jamieson of Florida). What a memorable day it was when this beautiful building, that could house 50 students, could be taken into use at the beginning of the academic year in 1927.

Many students made suggestions towards a possible name for the building. A sub-committee of the Residence committee recommended the name ‘Klimop’. That was early in 1927. A decision about the name remained on the backburner for the whole year. The students decided to take matters in their own hands and sent the committee a letter informing them that the name would be “Heimat”

Wonderdaad…! wrote:

Apparently there was miss-communication between the authorities and the students, because before the former knew what was happening, the name of the residence was ‘Heimat’. Later, LJ du Plessis, who was a member of the committee, said that the name was apparently chosen by the German-born housemaster, Prof GTS Eiselen.

“Heimat” is the German word for “home”.

Prof SP van der Walt gave his version about the origin of the name in the 1966 Die Besembos:

Already living in the residence we decided to suggest a name. The name ‘Heimat’ was proposed by the late Rev JB du Plessis. It was met with approval by all, since we felt that it was not only a house but a home and we would like to make it official.

Prof Van der Walt told another anecdote:

Shortly after we moved in, the Council decided that a set of rules needed to be compiled which the students had to adhere to . . . One of those rules, I remember it so well, was that we had to sign out in the evenings when we leave the residence. We also had to write down where we were planning on going. The house master provided a long, slim booklet with about a 100 pages for this. The booklet had to last for a year. The students showed their discontent for this rule by using a whole page to draw a detailed map showing exactly how they are going ride with their bicycles to go and visit their girlfriends. The book did not last a week!

In Historiese geboue in Potchefstroom Arie Kuijers described Heimat:

For the façade of this neo-Cape Dutch double-storied building Moerdyk made use of the classical five-module division. Modules 1 and 4 are crowned with concavo-convex gables, whereas the gable of the accentuated centre module, with its pilaster and pediment, shows similarities with the classic gables in the Boland. Modules 2 and 4 have a colonnade on the ground floor and a balustrade on the first floor.

In spite of Moerdyk’s apparent attempt to create an elegant building, the use of steel-frame windows, mass-produced concrete pillars and balustrades, betrays the limiting influence of a lack of funds.

Many happy – and not so happy – memories

The phalanx of students that lived in Heimat has many stories to tell.

Before and after the outbreak of the Second World War, friction ran high between the students of the PUC and the soldiers stationed in Potchefstroom. On 7 August 1940 a group of soldiers, armed with pickaxe handles with barbed wire wrapped around it and socks filled with lead and stones, attacked students in the student hall. A group of the soldiers went to Heimat and tried to storm up the stairs, but the students barricaded the stairs with beds. Some ingenious students electrified the metal railings of the stairs. When they could not reach the upper storey, the soldiers focussed their violence on the dining hall, which had already been laid for the next morning’s breakfast. Tables were upset, table legs broken off and the porcelain was broken in pieces.

This was only one incidence that marred the history of Heimat.

Read more about this event at: https://lenniegouws.co.za/soldate-vs-studente/

 

The photo above was probably taken from a curious little window just below the ceiling at the back of the Hall, the purpose of which nowadays could not be ascertained. In the early days of Heimat it was expected of all students to attend all meals properly dressed with ties and jackets. It is told that one crafty student, with the help of a friend, had his meal hoisted up to this window, so as to still eat but without having to put on the prescribed formal attire.

Rev Andries Mulder, who was a first-year student in 1960, said that he will never forget the battle between Heimat and Gatland (as Ons Huis was then known by the students), the night before the fish-pond was demolished. It was fought to the bloody end and he himself broke his hand in the process! The fish-pond was demolished to build the new Psychology Building.

Whilst drinking tea that evening we decided to engage in a battle with Gatland to decide who would be the last owners of the fish-pond. Heimat and Uitspan (the residence just north of Heimat) advanced together. The two residences together had about as many residents as Gatland.

Heimat and UItspan were victorious and the fish-pond would be for all living memory the property of Heimat and Uitspan. But, alas, the fish-pond is no more.

Tea time in the evenings was a huge joke. I remember John Knox who had Sociology 1 as a secondary subject. He came in after visiting his girlfriend and called: ‘Heimat, tonight there must be silence! Tomorrow I will be writing Sos and had to press through to 9 o’clock!’

John also owned a Volkswagen Bug that he parked in front of Heimat without permission. In those days students were not allowed to have cars on the campus. Oom Bosman (known by the students as ‘Prof Bossie), the janitor of the PUC, received a letter from the rector, which he placed under a windscreen wiper of the car. John found it and that afternoon when we drank coffee, he shouted: ‘Heimat, Prof Chris (Coetzee – the rector) is in correspondence with me!’

In 1951 the PUC became an independent university, now carrying the name Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education (PU for CHE).

Students from those years also remember a fireworks battle between Heimat and Uitspan, on the one side, and Gatland on the other side. This took place on Guy Fawkes night (5 November). Apart from fireworks, huge slingshots that shot large potatoes were used.

The last year Heimat was a residence was 1981. This was a matter of much sorrow for the residents. “Our residence will be closed in 1981, but the Heimat Spirit would flow to any place where we might move,” they declared in Die Besembos of that year.

After more than 50 years the residents of Heimat relocated to Patria, one of the new hostels that was built next to the road to the Potchefstroom Dam, then known as the “Dampad-koshuise” (Dam road residences). They aptly named their new residence “Patria” the Latin word for homeland, which has the same meaning as Heimat in German.

Heimat almost demolished

After Heimat’s life as a residence came to an end the authorities were of the opinion that the building was inefficacious and lone-standing and considered to demolish it. Many departments and divisions, however, placed Heimat on their wish-list to be used by them.

A new awareness for the treasure of heritage buildings in the town swept Potchefstroom during the early 1980s. Subsequently, together with the Main Building, Heimat was declared a National Monument on 11 May 1984. As motivation for this it was said that both buildings represent important milestones in the history of the Potchefstroom University. The fact that Heimat was the first permanent building on the campus gave much impetus to the declaration.

In the years following 1981 Heimat was used for many purposes. By then the Department of Fine Arts had used the hall since 1974. This department was closed in the early 1990s as part of a rationalisation process.

Heimat was rented to the Defence Force in 1991 who used it for research purposes. From 1992 it was used by the Student Council and then by the Student Dean and the Sports Bureau. It served as the offices for the Bureau of University Education, the Department of Public Relations and Protection Services.

By 1995 the building was in a poor state. The Department of Culture, however, had its eye on Heimat. In an interview with Wapad, the director, Horst Bütow, in October that year said: “It is deplorable that a historic building such as Heimat is left to decay, especially on campus such as the PUC who is steeped in traditions.”

At the time the Department was squeezed in under the floor of the Auditorium. (Read my article on the Auditorium at: https://lenniegouws.co.za/the-auditorium-that-almost-was-not/ ) There was no office space for newer students group at the time, such as the Serenaders.

Heimat had what the Department needed most: space. They also wanted to have all the cultural organisations on the campus under one roof. They were also willing to refurbish the building.

During November 1995 it was decided to make Heimat available to the Department of Culture and a year later, the move was completed. Under the auspices of the Department of Culture, later PUK Arts and now NWU Arts, office space was made available for all the student cultural organisations, such as the University Choir, the Thalia Drama Society, the Serenaders and the now defunct Alabama Student Company.

The name “Heimat” again entered the realm of student life in 1991 when the eponymous town residence came into being, creating a portal to student life for many living in private accommodation in the city.

During 2009 the Artéma Recording Studio was installed on the first floor of the Heimat Building. This state-of-the-art facility was since used by many well-known recording artists.

Heimat’s Hall

The Heimat Hall was initially planned and designed to have multiple purposes. It primarily served as dining hall but had a full stage with a curtain and a proscenium arch and could be used for other events such as special dinners, concerts and meetings. When built it could accommodate the complete student body.

Since the middle of the 1970s the hall was not used for dining anymore. A part of the Heimat Hall was allocated to the Department of Fine Arts in 1974. The hall was then divided by a dry wall and the side allocated to Fine Arts was used as teaching and exhibition space for art works. The western wing was occupied by Protection Services.

When Protection Services eventually moved out in 2002, the drywall was taken out and the hall was again used for concerts, events and as a repetition space for various cultural groups.

In 2018 Heimat underwent a macro upgrade. An earlier unsympathetic paint job which sealed the external walls and caused water ingress necessitated the removal of the old plaster and re-plastering the walls. New floors were installed in the Hall, hallways and on the stairs and the building was painted.

Nowadays Heimat still buzzes with vibrant student activities as in the days of old when it was a residence, with the many student cultural groups having a home here. Against the walls the history of these groups are portrayed in the form of posters for concerts and productions. Since the glory days of the Alabama Student Company from the 1960s onwards the feisty and vibrant student cultural life of the PU for CHE was the envy of all universities in the country. With the support of NWU Arts this is still the case and Heimat is the place where this all happens.

Selected sources:

G van den Bergh, Terrein- en geboue-ontwikkeling in ES van Eeden (ed.), In U Lig, (Potchefstroom, 2006),

PF van der Schyff, Wonderdaad…! (Potchefstroom, 2003),