‘Dreamer of great dreams’ now fallen from grace

City’s initial reception of monument was enthusiastic

WHEN dignitaries gathered on UCT’s rugby fields at 11am on Wednesday, March 7, 1934, for the unveiling of the Cecil John Rhodes statue, the address they heard from governor-general the Earl of Clarendon George Villiers left little doubt that the bronze statute was intended to stay in place forever.

While the statue has now been boarded up after weeks of protests by the Rhodes Must Fall movement, at its unveiling Villiers likened it to the Statue of Liberty that stands in New York Harbour.

“At the gateway to the Union of South Africa there will stand for all time this monument to the memory of one of South Africa’s great sons,” the late edition of the Cape Times reported him as saying.

“In unveiling it, which I do now, I fervently trust that those who pass by, whether it be today, tomorrow or in years to come, may gain inspiration from looking upon the distinguished and noble features of that great man.”

A distinguished audience of roughly 600 had come to the unveiling, including General Jan Smuts, the Archbishop of Cape Town Francis Phelps and, as the Cape Times put it, “many senators and members of Parliament and their wives”.

Villiers described the former prime minister of the Cape Colony as a “dreamer of great dreams”, who worked hard to unite Boer and Brit.

Following its unveiling in 1934, the statue was moved to its current position in 1962 when the M3 freeway was constructed.

It was a gift by the Rhodes Memorial Committee to UCT.

A programme from the unveiling, unearthed in the UCT archives by Emeritus Professor Howard Phillips, gives background to the controversial bronze figure.

It was created to be “one and a half times life size”, and shows Rhodes seated “on the

Young men and

The statue was the brainchild of Lord George Curzon, viceroy and governor-general of India, who suggested a seated statue of Rhodes in “contemplative attitude” after visiting South Africa in 1909.

It was created by the sculptor Marion Walgate, and cast at the Thames Ditton Bronze Foundry. After being completed in England, the statue was transported to South Africa aboard a Union Castle liner.

The Argus, like the Cape Times, was effusive in its praise of the statue at the time.

Its March 7 edition editorial said “no gift could be more appropriate or more welcome”.

“It is fitting that the young men and women of the present day, who are pursuing their studies at the University of Cape Town, should be daily reminded of the great-souled South African to whom they and the community at large owe so much,” read the edito- rial, which asserted that the fame and standing of Rhodes would continue to grow.

“As was said by the first Lord de Villiers, one of his great contemporaries, it is certain that as time passes and his achievements are seen in their true perspective, it is the pure gold of his composition which will be the prominent feature of his image and command the admiration of future generations.”

Die Burger, which at the time didn’t have a late edition, covered the unveiling on March 8. It gave an overview of the governor- general’s speech, focusing on how Rhodes had sought to improve AfrikanerBritish relations, and how some of his closest friends and confidants were “Hollanders”.

But it did make special mention of how popular the British national anthem was, highlighting that it was played not once but twice at the unveiling.