RW Wilcocks falls, Krotoa rises at Maties
THE decision to rename the RW Wilcocks building at Stellenbosch University (SU) to Krotoa has been hailed as a bold act of inclusivity for the First Nation people.
The university announced yesterday the renaming of the building, which houses the departments of History and Psychology, the Division of Research Development, SU International, the SU Archives, as well as the Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology.
Named after Prof Raymond William Wilcocks, a scientist who supervised Hendrik Verwoerd’s doctoral thesis and was SU rector from 1935 to 1954, the building was opened in 1966.
The process to rename the building began in 2019.
SU’s Executive Committee of Council approved the renaming at its meeting on August 16 after the Rectorate received a shortlist of proposals from the Committee for the Naming of Buildings, Venues and Other Facilities/Premises in June.
Following extensive debate and taking various aspects into consideration, including Krotoa’s complex personal history, the Rectorate proposed the name to the council.
“The name Krotoa is particularly significant now that we are celebrating Women’s Month. Apart from a few residences, no SU buildings have previously been named after women,” said Registrar and chair of the Naming Committee, Dr Ronel Retief.
“The name Krotoa is not only linked to a woman, but also to an entire under-represented group of people indigenous to Southern Africa and the area now known as the Western Cape.
“Krotoa’s role as interpreter between different cultural and language groups is a demonstration of bridge building,” Retief said.
The Goringhaicona Khoi Khoin Indigenous Traditional Council under Paramount Chief Aran welcomed the decision as a move towards national healing and transformation.
“Krotoa is a key matriarchal figure of the Goringhaicona, whose life served as an invaluable and complex diplomatic interface between the worlds of the Khoi and the Dutch in the mid to late 1600s,” the traditional council said.