UNIVERSITY OF PORT ELIZABETH / UNIVERSITEIT PORT ELIZABETH / IYUNIVESITHI YASEBHAYI, Summerstrand, Port Elizabeth.
The arms may be blazoned:
Arms: Azure, a four-pointed star between four anchors saltirewise, shanks to the centre; in chief three cinquefoils, Argent.
Crest: In front of an open book two pairs of compasses expanded in pale, the lower inverted, points conjoined, proper.
Motto: Nulli cessura fides.
Arms explained:
Two elements in these arms are derived from the arms of Port Elizabeth:
Two golden cinquefoils appear in the city’s arms, and are taken directly from the arms of Sir Rufane Donkin. The choice of three cinquefoils for the university arms would appear to have been made to give balance to the chief (the top sector of the shield).
A pair of stock anchors appears in the chief of the city’s arms as a mark of difference from those of Sir Rufane (they are on either side of the Indian elephant, which together with the embattled chief was added to Sir Rufane’s arms as an augmentation of honour). It appears likely that stockless anchors in the university arms were chosen because modern ships use anchors of this type, whereas sailing ships (such as the one that appears in the city’s crest) generally used stock anchors.
The book in the crest is a symbol of learning often seen in university arms, while the compasses would appear to symbolise precision in the sciences.
The colours of silver and blue are a break from the red, gold and silver of the city arms, and might be seen as alluding to Port Elizabeth’s position on the shores of Algoa Bay.
A most unusual feature of the arms is the addition, around the sides and base of the shield, of a black band on which the motto is inscribed. It is unclear whether this is intended to be a partial border (which would seem unlikely, since the addition of the words of the motto to the shield is part of the heraldic tradition of Spain and Portugual, not of the parts of Europe most closely associated with South African settlement) or an unusual variety of motto ribbon.
The upper ends of the black band are decorated with six silver flowers (three on either side), each comprising four petals saltirewise and five silver dots, one in the centre and the others between the petals. These “flowers” are not especially heraldic in appearance.
The motto was taken from the Latin poet Ovid and translates as “Unyielding Faith” or “Never give up the Faith.” It could also be read, on a more mundane level, as “Don’t stop being faithful.”
About the university:
The University of Port Elizabeth (popularly called UPE) was founded by Act of Parliament on 31 January 1964 and began its first academic year in 1965. It was set up to provide tertiary education in both English and Afrikaans – South Africa’s first, and for many years only proper dual- and parallel-medium university. Its establishment was strongly supported by the National Party government of the day, which wanted to minimise the liberal influence of Rhodes University, which had been teaching some courses at a campus in Bird Street, in Port Elizabeth’s historic Central Hill area.
UPE initially took over the Bird Street campus of Rhodes University, but in January 1974 moved to a completely new campus built on an 800 ha stretch of dunesand in previously undeveloped bush adjacent to the seaside suburb of Summerstrand and the Humewood Golf Club.
The university’s nickname is “The campus by the sea”, and marine sports – especially surfing and light catamaran sailing – are popular among students and staff. On a more academic note, the university has long been a centre for the study of marine and intertidal biology, and has recently introduced a course in environmental science.
The Bird Street campus was finally sold in the 1990s.
Summerstrand campus:
The Summerstrand area was, in the early 1800s, a farm called Strandfontein (“spring or fountain on the beach”) which for a time belonged to the Voortrekker leader Piet Retief. Retief, who came from the Western Cape, lived in the Uitenhage district from 1814 to ’17. The census of 1815 shows him resident in Algoa Bay, where Strandfontein had been granted to him unofficially the year before. He paid rent on the property until 1818, when Port Elizabeth pioneer Frederik Korsten began paying.
Strandfontein was surveyed and officially granted to Retief in 1821, when he immediately transferred to Korsten. Retief also owned at least one plot, perhaps more, along the shore where the village of Port Elizabeth grew up.
He subsequently moved frequently, although chiefly being based in Grahamstown until the departure in April 1837 of his trek to Transorangia (today known as the Free State) and finally to Natal, where he was killed on the orders of the Zulu king Dingane on 6 February 1838. To see a coat of arms associated (irregularly) with Piet Retief, click here.
In the late 19th century Strandfontein and adjacent properties south of the then town of Port Elizabeth became a denuded wasteland, due to the activities of woodcutters whose destruction of the indigenous fynbos caused a dramatic rise in dune activity. The town council, fearing that the town would be overwhelmed by the dunes, called in the assistance of Joseph Lister, who had had marked success in dealing with a similar problem on the Cape Flats (the sandy area between the Cape Peninsula and the Hottentots Holland, south of the Tygerberg).
Lister’s method entailed the dumping of rubbish on the shifting dunes and planting them with a variety of vegetation, especially including Australian members of the Acacia family, particularly A saligna (Port Jackson) and A cyclops (rooikrans). As a result these and other exotic plants became established to the extent that (in both the Eastern and the Western Cape) have become major plant pests, hard to eradicate.
A consequence of this is that the nature reserve established on part of the UPE campus still contains exotic vegetation, and efforts to eradicate it and encourage indigenous plants are ongoing.
Languages at UPE:
UPE originally taught in only English and Afrikaans, and catered only for white students. Both languages are still the main medium of instruction, but in recent years the university has gone out of its way to accommodate students of other races. Xhosa-speaking students receive special attention, which is why the university’s name now appears in that language also.
Website:
The university’s website can be found here.
Vir Afrikaans, kliek hier
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Comments, queries: Mike Oettle