By UCT alumnus, donor and supporter, Duncan Saville

I remember seeing Leo Marquard Residence for the first time in 1974 - before it was actually open - when my mother and I visited UCT to see what my residency options were. This brand new, pink building looked welcoming and just the place to start my university career.

What is fascinating is how clear those 50 year old memories are. Our residence was named after a civil rights activist and that always resonated with me. It seemed to be an affirmation of who we were and who we were to become.

Our wardens were the Australian Rod Krause, Geoff Garrett (who sometimes played in the Leo Marquard soccer team and then later, Bob Tait). The kitchen staff hold some of my fondest memories. Who could forget Alice, Mini, Celia, Sarah and the others who would chat and banter with us and occasionally spoil us? When Luke, Hugh and I visited some twenty years later, many of the same kitchen team were still working at Leo Marquard, were super friendly and remembered our names, as did we, their names

Freshers Week

If I am going to start with Leo Marquard memories through my naïve, first-year impressionable student’s eyes, then it must be at Freshers week. Freshers week was more than an interesting socialising and social experience for me. Let’s face it, the main attractions for some, were the unsupervised drinking, late nights, introduction to the Pig & Whistle, and obviously the girls, while other highlights during that time included the RAG floats and the drummies.

However, I remember the Freshers week sporty activities more clearly, such as the pram racing, watching the Jamie Steps tobogganing and the fresher’s athletics carnival, which as an athlete, was a high spot for me, rather than the introduction to the Pig & Whistle and all the social events, which remain a blur 50 years on.

Mealtimes at Leo Marquard 

One advantage that Marquard had over Tugwell, was that the Baxter girls generally ate at Marquard rather than Tugwell. Therefore, Marquard mealtimes were quite social. Ironically when we visited Tugwell for a meal, the portions were noticeably smaller.

I remember that fish was often served at lunch on Friday. While fish would not have been my first choice of a meal, I had heard somewhere at the time, that fish was good for the brain and therefore I embraced the fish option at Friday lunch, during exam times. 

Friday nights were steak and chips and was not to be missed, while the occasional baked Alaska are remembered fondly by some. One Friday, I organised a Leo Marquard golf tournament at the Royal Cape GC. Once done, it was back to Leo Marquard to shower, before tucking into our much appreciated Friday steak and chips, which was served by two obliging volunteers from Tugwell in one of the ground floor Marquard meeting rooms. The total cost per head, including wine, was only R2.50. Now that was value for a student’s money.

Academic life at Leo Marquard and exams

I don’t miss our walks from Leo Marquard to campus or queuing for the bus to drive us, especially when one was late for lectures. 

Those first year Maths, Economics, and Statistics mid-term exams were a stressful challenge for many. It felt like the whole of Leo Marquard was buckling in for a last-minute cram. The pass rate for our Statistics 1a first midterm test was 10%. Economics 1 was a mixed bag. Who can forget one of the Economics lecturers commenting, “Look to your left and look to your right as they will not be joining you in Economics 2 next year?”  I remember thinking that I should have Simon covered but Liz is quite smart. I could be in trouble.

Those small lounges on each Marquard floor seemed to act as a magnet for the coffee drinkers during exam revision time and were helpful to find out what you did not know the evening before an exam or that your economics textbook (Samuelson, in my case) did not the entire Economics syllabus.

Of course, some of my peers had their birthdays in the middle of the June exam week and insisted on studying, celebrated at the Pig & Whistle on their birthday night (Simon).  Another decided to have a quick beer at the same pub to settle his nerves before his final exam, only to find out when his exam cohort joined him for a celebratory drink in the pub that the exam was actually written (Jannie).

When I became an accounting tutor, I made a request to the Commerce Faculty powers that be, to hold my Accounts A Tutorials in Leo Marquard, to save my tutorial students and myself the schlep to travel up the mountain each week. There was great camaraderie in my tutorials as my Monday class worked through the tutorials diligently with me on the white board and provided me with the required knowledge to take on my more academically confident Tuesday Accounting A class and their more demanding questions, the next day. I always had Pete Osborne to solve the really difficult assignment questions.

Residence and social activities

How lucky were we to have a brand new, half empty residence empty in that first year? I enjoyed having a double room to myself. I remember the opening of the snooker room and the Leo Marquard Pub as highlights, but significantly more useful to me was the installation of a photocopier. This was a real benefit as we could now photocopy those problematic Economics 1 lecture notes when we missed lectures or when our lecture notes were incoherent. (Thank you Tony and Charles).

The occasional social Friday night dances were always popular, and I do know that some of our cohort had their first dance with their “wives to be” at these social nights (Pete) while the ballroom dance classes held at the Baxter Theatre provided a relaxed forum to invite a ballroom dance partner to the social dance.

Formal dinners

The annual men only formal dinners became a tradition and a highlight. Simon reminded me that our first keynote speaker was John Vorster which was a big deal in 1975, as was Chief Buthelezi who spoke in 1976 was similarly a bold choice at that time. Other keynote speakers in those early years included Roger Gardiner, the Western Province rugby coach who gave us an English lesson on a well-known  swear word to great amusement, as was Professor Leon Kritzinger, the visionary and trail blazing Dean of Commerce, who was invited by me in 1978 and therefore notionally my responsibility, and who had me quite concerned when he successfully took on the challenge of downing a schooner of beer, during the dinner. 

Sport 

For some, sport was our raison d'être while we are at university and res. Sport was a highlight for me. I remember the very first Leo Marquard football team entering the UCT internal league in 1975 and being given a direct entry into the league’s top division against some loud and strident opposition for special treatment, from both the other residences and various social football club league participants. Those complaints were quickly silenced when we remained unbeaten for the first part of the season.

In our second year, Leo Marquard took rugby more seriously with the influx of a significant and capable - then Rhodesian - rugby cohort and we won the league in a canter. In addition, we made the finals of the knockout competition only to lose the final when someone who will remain anonymous, missed a relatively easy penalty to win that game. I suspect it was the only game we lost that season!

Perhaps our Leo Marquard rugby highlight in those years was playing against Stellenbosch University’s Helshoogte, at Stellenbosch, with their team loaded with Craven Week representative players meeting their match. I think we were the only UCT koshuis team to win that year. Take a bow Willie Earl, for your try.

Disciplinary committee

In my final year, I was on the three man Leo Marquard student disciplinary committee, and what is an appropriate disciplinary censure I ask, when a fellow resident throws out most of their furniture from a ninth floor window after a few too many drinks? Suddenly you have one of your peers and rugby teammate’s university career on the line. I was the voice of reason in that committee meeting - one member was all for an expulsion from the Residence, but common sense prevailed. Lucky you, Rory.

The Real Deal

They say youth is wasted on the young, but we did not waste our time at Leo Marquard. Let’s face it, we did mature and grow up, albeit slowly. Looking back, it is obvious these were the best of times.

What Marquard represents to me, is a life-long friendships, wives for some, enduring business partnerships for others, everlasting memories and experiences. This 50 year reunion has been an opportunity to rekindle past friendships, hear about their families, their careers, where they live, see photographs of partners, children, grandchildren, monitor the ageing process and catching up with some of the original Leo Marquard cohort, having reunions at Forries and reliving those Leo Marquard memories and resuming our bantering on various  WhatsApp threads.

This is why Leo Marquard will always be special to me.