Last modified: 2006-03-04 by bruce berry
Keywords: rhodes university | pretoria university | walter sisulu |
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by Martin Grieve, 29 Mar 2005
Rhodes University is located in Grahamstown in the
Eastern Cape province of
South Africa. The University was established on 31 May 1904 as the Rhodes
University College, named for Cecil John Rhodes, diamond and gold magnate,
imperialist, sometime Prime Minister of the Cape Colony and founder of the
British South Africa Company which colonised Rhodesia (today
Zimbabwe and
Zambia). Donations towards its founding came largely from the trustees of
Rhodes's estate (he had died in 1902) and De Beers Consolidated Mines (which he
had founded), as well as several public bodies in what was then called the
Eastern Province.
On 10 March 1951 Rhodes became an independent university, to which the
University of Fort Hare founded in 1916 in the near-by town of Alice) was
affiliated until 1959. Under the apartheid dispensation Fort Hare originally
accepted Black students only while Rhodes catered for white students.
In the 1960s Rhodes University established a branch in Port Elizabeth, but
government intervention saw its campus there being taken over by the new
University of Port Elizabeth which in January 2005 became known as the Nelson
Mandela Metropolitan University.
In the 1980s Rhodes University established a branch in East London which became
a flourishing campus, but again further government intervention resulted in this
campus becoming part of the University of Fort Hare in 2003.
The flag of Rhodes University is based on its Arms which were granted by the
London College of Arms in 1913. The blazon (as recorded on the Deed of Grant)
reads:
"Or on a Pile Sable an Open Book inscribed with the words "Sapientam Exquiret
Sapiens" between three Escallops of the first. On a Chief Argent a Lion passant
gules between two Thistles slipped and leaved proper. And for the crest a Wreath
of the Colours upon a Rock the Figure of a Man mounted on a Horse representing
'energy' all Argent".
The excessive use of capital letters and a paucity of punctuation is
characteristic of blazons from the College of Arms. It is also characteristic of
the College to omit mention of the motto below the shield, which reads: Vis
Virtus Veritas.
The symbolism of the Arms is as follows:
Black and gold are the livery colours of the Graham family. The pile (inverted
triangle) is characteristic of the arms of Graham of Fintry, while the escallops
(shells), an emblem of pilgrimage, appear not only in the arms of Fintry (a
cadet branch of the family) but also Graham of Montrose (the clan chief). These
Graham symbols signify the university's presence in Grahamstown.
The lion and two thistles were taken from the coat of arms granted posthumously
to Cecil John Rhodes and were also found
in the Arms of Rhodesia. The references to
Cecil Rhodes arise out of his estate's role in establishing the university.
The open book is a common feature of the arms of a college or university; a
famous example is Oxford University.
The crest is a representation of the famous statue by Watts which forms part of
the Rhodes Memorial in Cape Town. The statue, also known as Physical Energy, was
a favourite of Rhodes'.
An appalling aspect of the artwork produced by the herald painter, or artist
attached to the College of Arms in London, is that the crest-wreath is drawn
with the appearance of a tea-tray balanced on top of the helmet. The
crest-wreath or torse was produced by twisting silk cloth in two or more colours
and was placed around the bolts that held the crest to the helmet, so as to
conceal them, and so formed the base of the crest. It must be added that the
standard of artwork produced through the College has improved considerably
through the 20th century, and is now an exemplary blend of authentic mediæval
and appropriate modern styles.
Further details of the University's Arms and its history can be found on Mike
Oettle's SA heraldry website while the University's own website can be found
here.
Bruce Berry, 29 Mar 2005
Original image by Mike Oettle, 14 Feb 2002. Remade by Anto'nio Martins-Tuva'lkin,
20 June 2004
This is an illustration of the flag of Pretoria University, which as the name
implies is located in Pretoria. The proportions
of the colours appear to be two-thirds blue above and one-third red at
the bottom.
Mike Oettle, 14 Feb 2002
.gif)
Original image sent by Mike Oettle, 14 Feb 2002 and remade by Anto'nio Martins-Tuva'lkin,
20 June 2004
sent by Bruce Berry, from www.wsu.ac.za,
26 Jan 2006
Walter Sisulu University, located in Mthatha (formerly Umtata) in the
Eastern Cape province, is a new university
named after one of the seminal leaders of the African
National Congress. Details are given at
www.wsu.ac.za/news/newflag.htm,
which gives the following details:
On 1 July 2005, the new flag Walter Sisulu University (WSU) was raised in a
quiet ceremony at the main campus in Mthatha, Eastern Cape, to mark the
establishment of the new University.
The new flag is a radical change for the former merger partners. In addition to bearing the new University’s logo, the flag flies vertically in a break away from the traditional horizontal flag and is flown in a pair at each campus, bearing the logo against both black and white backgrounds.
WSU was established through a merger between Border Technikon, Eastern Cape Technikon and the University of Transkei.
sent by Bruce Berry,
from www.wsu.ac.za,
26 Jan 2006
The new, comprehensive WSU corporate identity “look and feel”, approved on 09 Dcember 2004, allows for a degree of flexibility which is appropriate for a large university with a wide geographical spread. The simple and striking logo remains as the underpinning, constant factor communicating simply and boldly the message that a new university as arrived.
The following six principles form the foundation of the WSU corporate identity:
1. The adoption of the black and white WSU logo with the three-dimensional grey outlining the letters. This will also be used in the reverse of white on black.
2. The principle that the gazetted name of the institution will appear on official documents such as stationery, printed materials and wherever suitably applicable.
3. The principle that a strap-line be applied to all printed materials such as advertisement templates, publications and wherever suitably applicable.
4. The approval of the following wording for the introductory strapline: “A developmental university... technological, scientific, innovative, responsive”
5. The principle of the use of colour to identity and personalize areas of operation. (The colour coding of faculties and areas of operation will be negotiated as part of the implementation process.)
6. The principle that photographic imagery be employed to convey appropriate messages to appropriate target markets in advertisement templates and publications.
Ron Lahav, 25 Jan 2006