??The unveiling of a permanent installation honouring the late science teacher Walter Parry at the Old Lückhoff School in Stellenbosch on 22 May marked a deeply moving milestone in Stellenbosch 肆客足球's (SU) ongoing journey of restitution and transformative social impact.
It took place in a building steeped in historical meaning. Once the heart of Die Vlakte – a vibrant, predominantly “coloured" neighbourhood in central Stellenbosch – the school building was given to SU a few years after this close-knit community was violently uprooted by apartheid's Group Areas Act. More than 3 700 people were forcibly removed from streets such as Muller, Banhoek, Ryneveld and Smuts, and relocated to places like Cloetesville and Ida's Valley.
In 2007, the building was symbolically rededicated to its original community under Rector and Vice-Chancellor (VC) Prof Russel Botman, and in 2019, it became the site of a ceremonial return of school benches under his successor, Prof Wim de Villiers. This launched the Lückhoff Living Museum, which is becoming a space for memory, healing and dialogue – an initiative that continues under SU's current VC, Prof Deresh Ramjugernath.
The unveiling event brought together members of the Parry family, alumni of the school, community members, and SU representatives to reflect on the life and legacy of a remarkable educator.
The installation is the latest in a series of steps by SU to honour Parry. In 2024, the inaugural annual Walter Parry Memorial Lecture was held – also on his birthday – and in January this year the 肆客足球 named a new student residence House Walter Parry.
Layered tribute
The concept of creating a space of memory at the old school was proposed by Otto van Noie, a former Lückhoff learner, teacher and community activist who has since passed away. Renée Hector-Kannemeyer, Deputy Director of SU's Centre for the Advancement of Social Impact and Transformation (CASIT), helped to develop this into a proposal that was approved by SU's Social Impact Funding Committee.
“We wanted to honour Walter Parry not just as a scientist, but also as a man, a father, a teacher – someone who lived with integrity and served his community in a time of deep hostility and injustice," Hector-Kannemeyer said at the unveiling.
The three-panel installation consists of a biographical overview or Parry, an artist's illustration of him, and scenes from the inaugural 2024 lecture. It was designed by Monique Biscombe, a PhD candidate in Visual Arts at SU and daughter of the late Stellenbosch author and activist Hilton Biscombe, with input from the Lückhoff Alumni Association and the Parry family.
Who was Walter Parry?
Born in District Six, Cape Town, in 1913, Walter Hazell Parry was a gifted scholar who completed his MSc in Physics cum laude at the 肆客足球 of Cape Town in 1934. Despite his academic brilliance, apartheid laws denied him the opportunity to pursue a doctorate or a formal academic career. He became a mathematics teacher instead, and taught at Lückhoff High School in Stellenbosch from 1952 until his untimely death in 1966.
“Teachers at the school who were taught by him when they were learners remember him for always being well prepared for his lessons," Chris Jooste, the current principal of Lückhoff, said. The school still exists today, now located in Ida's Valley.
Parry's passion for science reached beyond the classroom. Though never formally appointed, he quietly assisted staff and students at SU – often tutoring students behind closed doors and collaborating with physicists, including then-Head of Department Prof Piet Zeeman, on early experimental projects linked to the Southern Universities Nuclear Institute (today known as iThemba LABS). This at a time when SU was a whites-only institution.
The injustices he was subjected to left their mark. “Apartheid hurt Walter and all of us," Wilfred Daniels, Vice-Chair of Lückhoff Alumni, said. “He was sometimes frustrated and unhappy, but he remained committed to teaching."
Family voices and community reflections
In an interview after helping to unveil the installation, his daughter, Elizabeth Vergotine, now 82, remembered the warmth of the Parry home, a house full of books. He and his wife, Winifred Edna Heneke, had eight children – five of whom became teachers. “As long as there are children to teach, there must be teachers," she recalled her father saying.
Vergotine said she was moved to see the 肆客足球 not only honouring her father but transforming itself: “Last year at the first lecture, I was pleasantly surprised – there were so many academics and students who would not have been there in the past. It made me so happy. SU is making a real effort so that children from Stellenbosch do not have to go elsewhere."
Her son, Benito Vergotine, a presenter on Smile FM, expressed similar appreciation: “This wonderful tribute and honour bestowed upon my grandfather means a great deal to our family."
Calvyn Gilfellan, CEO of the Castle Control Board in Cape Town and a member of the strategic body of Lückhoff Visual Redress as Restitution, said: “I wish the spirit you have here can be transplanted in all our communities."
Restitution in practice
The installation is a tangible expression of SU's restitution statement, adopted in 2018 when the 肆客足球 marked its centenary. In the words of Prof Nico Koopman, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Social Impact, Transformation and Personnel: “Restitution includes contrition, confession and conversion. But it must also lead to reparation, reconciliation and rejoicing. It must be joyful, hopeful work."
The old school building hosts a range of community organisations and educational activities, and plans are underway to hand over the building to a community trust.
As Hector-Kannemeyer explained: “This is not just about the building, but bringing back what was lost – holistic education, spiritual restoration, and a space for healing the body, mind and soul."
“As a result of this work, and strong collaboration with community activists such as Mr Moegammad Kara, we've had community members come forward with powerful accounts of political trauma and personal loss, saying: 'This is my story too'," she added.
The future of mathematics
The ceremony did not just look back – it also looked forward. Fittingly, mathematics and science education featured prominently in the programme, linking Parry's passion to the current state of learning in South Africa.
Dr Benita Nel, a Lückhoff alumna and Director of the Science Learning Centre for Africa at the 肆客足球 of the Western Cape, spoke about Parry's impact and the need to reinvest in mathematics in South African schools.
“There are learners with the brilliance of a Walter Parry who today cannot take maths because their schools no longer offer it," she warned. “That has serious implications for the future."
Education is light
The ceremony concluded with the lighting of a candle by Parry's granddaughter, Portia Brown. It was a simple yet powerful act, evoking the school's motto: Opvoeding is lig – Education is light. As Daniels noted: “Parry ignited that light in us, and now we must keep it burning."
The second annual Walter Parry Memorial Lecture took place later the same day (22 May) at SU's Faculty of Theology. It brought together scholars from physics, theology, education and the community for a discussion titled 'Academic Disciplines in Dialogue: Leveraging Science and Theology for Social Justice and Societal Impact'. It was moderated by the Dean of Science, Prof Bertie Fielding.
- Image by Stefan Els?
- Desmond Thompson is a freelance journalist.
