Holland House

Holland House was gifted to St Andrew’s College in 1945 by Mrs Evangeline Mullins, wife of St Andrew’s Prep Headmaster, the Revd RG Mullins (OA 1881-85). It is named after Mr Fred Holland (OA 1883-87) as a tribute to his many generous bequests and his lifetime of service to the school.

            In 1963 Holland House became a ‘newboy house’ for Mullins House. Mr Arie Blacquiere (Honorary OA) was the first Holland House Housemaster and Deputy Housemaster of Mullins House from 1963 until 1965.

            In the time since Holland House has been home to Mullins House newboys, three members of staff have had long tenures in charge of Holland House. The late Mr IM Morton (OA 1951-55) spent 15 years as Holland House Housemaster and Deputy Housemaster of Mullins House from 1978 until 1992. His wife Mrs Pepe Morton (Honorary OA) remembers their years in Holland House and the boys that they cared for with a great deal of fondness. Pepe is still on the College staff, and the Lightfoot Range remains a place of sanctuary for the boys who take Shooting and Archery as a sport.

            The legendary ‘Mevrou’ Anna Jacobs (Honorary OA) was Housemistress of Holland House for 11 years from 1999 until 2009, supported by her husband ‘Meneer’ Leon Jacobs (Honorary OA). Mevrou’s love and dedication to the boys in Holland House was limitless. She is held in exceptionally high regard and affection by hundreds of Old Andreans through her long association with St Andrew’s.

            Mr Andrew Renard was Holland House Housemaster and the Deputy Housemaster of Mullins House from 2012 until 2019. During their time at the helm, Andrew and his wife Mrs Cindy Renard continued the tangible legacy of Holland House as a homely and caring environment for the Mullins House Grade 8s.

            Holland House marked something of a ‘full circle’ when Mr Ian Hobson (OA 1981-85) and his wife Mrs Lisa Hobson moved into Holland House in 2020 when Ian became Holland House Housemaster and Deputy Housemaster of Mullins House. What is especially noteworthy about this occasion is that Ian was a newboy in Holland House during his Standard 7 year at College in 1981.

            Aside from the great history of Holland House as a part of the fabric of College since Mrs Evangeline Mullins gifted it to the school, this building also had an interesting history and connections to St Andrew’s prior to 1945. In 1946 it was renamed as Holland House. Before this, the house was known as ‘Altadore’. Before Evangeline Mullins bought it, Altadore was the family home of Judge Frederick and Mrs Alice van der Riet. Their elder son was Judge EF van der Riet (OA 1911-16). He built ‘Littlewoods’, which is now named ‘van der Riet Lodge’ and is the newboy house at Graham House. In other words, he grew up in what later became a newboy house at St Andrew’s, and later on he lived in what would also become a newboy house when he bequeathed it to College in 1963.

References

Poland, M. (2008). The Boy in You: A Biography of St Andrew’s College, 1855 – 2005. Simon’s Town: Fernwood Press.

The Andrean no. 278. (1963). Grahamstown: St Andrew’s College.

Mullins House and Sport

Mullins House has long been associated with being strong at hockey. As a matter of fact, many of the Housemasters of Mullins House were also Master-in-Charge of Hockey at College. The first Housemaster, Mr Arthur ‘Foxy’ Knowling was responsible for introducing the sport at St Andrew’s. Mullins House has even produced a Springbok hockey captain, Mr Brian Belchers (Mullins 1958-63).

The hockey season of 1968 was a prime example when the strength of Mullins House at hockey was displayed. Peter Bridges (Mullins 1964-68, Head of House 1968) and Richard Lawson (Mullins 1964-68) were Captain and Vice-Captain of the school 1st XI hockey team, respectively. This marked the second occasion in College history that both the Captain and Vice-Captain were in the same House.   Mullins played the final match of the 1968 3rd XI interhouse hockey series against Upper. Mullins had already won the series prior to the match taking place, but they were hoping that they would end the series having won all of their matches. Mullins won the match with a score of 1 – 0. Robert Moore (M, 1966-70) was the goal scorer. In the 1st XI interhouse hockey series that year Mullins were ultimately joint winners, tying with Armstrong.

            Mullins House has also produced some exceptional swimmers. Tudor Lacey (Mullins 1956-59) and Neil Oldridge (Mullins 1956-59), contemporaries in Mullins House, both went on to become Springbok swimmers. Ivan Burnham-King (Mullins 1965-69), although he did not pursue competitive swimming after leaving school, had an exceptional swimming career while at College and did Mullins House extremely proud. He broke multiple School swimming records, including breaking Tudor Lacey’s longstanding record for 15 lengths freestyle (Under 15 age group) by 12 seconds!

            On the subject of sport, Mullins House has the distinction of being associated with three of the sports fields at College. Knowling Field is named after the famous first Housemaster of Mullins. Webster Field is named after Patrick Webster (Mullins 1922-27). A contemporary of Brian Black while in Mullins House, Pat Webster drove the masters mad at College with his dare-devil antics and his complete lack of fear! He was Head of House in 1927. After leaving school, he named himself Fairfield and was one of South Africa’s earliest motor racing aces. He won many national and international championships. In 1937, while competing in the French Grand Prix at Le Mans, he swerved to avoid a driver who had been thrown onto the track, and in so doing, he crashed through the barrier. The driver survived, but Pat Webster Fairfield was killed. Some extracts from his obituary in the Mullins House magazine go as follows:

“There are many boys who remember how outstandingly well he read the lessons in Chapel. He was always keen on motor racing even as a boy so it was no surprise to most of us to hear that he was making it and all its attendant scientific research his career. That he should deliberately choose an accident for himself rather than possibly damage a fellow driver in front of him is in keeping with his character.”

Crawhall Field is named in memory of John Crawhall (Mullins 1937-41). While at school, John bravely overcame great physical disabilities. He had been told he would never be strong enough for physical activities, and yet he enlisted to serve in the SAAF from 1942 to 1945. Tragically, he died in a motor accident in 1948. He was truly a boy who embodied Nec Aspera Terrent.

References

Mullins House Record. (1937). Grahamstown: St Andrew’s College.

Mullins House Record Book 1960 – 1974.

Poland, M. (2008). The Boy in You: A Biography of St Andrew’s College, 1855 – 2005. Simon’s Town: Fernwood Press.

Arie Blacquiere

The 5th Housemaster of Mullins House, appointed in 1966, was Mr Arie Blacquiere (Honorary Old Andrean). Mr Blacquiere had previously been the Housemaster of Day House. During his 22 years of service at College he was Head of the Afrikaans Department and also founded the school Sailing Club. From 1963 to 1965 he was Deputy Housemaster of Mullins House and in charge of Holland House where the Mullins newboys stayed.

            Mr Blacquiere left Mullins House and St Andrew’s College at the end of 1972, after seven years as Housemaster. He was thanked for his dedication and major contributions to College and to Mullins House.

References

The Andrean no. 278. (1963). Grahamstown: St Andrew’s College.

The Andrean no. 299. (1972). Grahamstown: St Andrew’s College.

Graham Dods

Mr Graham Dods (Honorary Old Andrean) served as the 4th Housemaster of Mullins House from 1960 – 1965. Mr Dods was a conscientious teacher and a good and fair disciplinarian, who during his tenure as Housemaster “contributed greatly in all ways to the House.” Peter Levey (OA 1960-63) remembers Dods as “a remarkable man who positively influenced so many young men.”         

During his 18 years at St Andrew’s Mr Dods was also Head of the Geography Department and Master-in-Charge of Hockey. He left College at the end of 1965 to become the longest serving Headmaster of St George’s Grammar School in Cape Town from 1966 until 1983. His son George (OA 1974-78) attended College as a member of Mullins House, and in 1978 he was both Head of School and Head of House. On his 90th birthday Graham bungee jumped off the Storms River Bridge, and celebrated his 95^th birthday by skydiving! Mr Dods passed away on 7 January 2021 in Hermanus, at the age of 96.

References

Mullins House Record Book

Peter Sturrock (Mullins 1963-67) shared the following:

As posted by ‘Nec Aspera Terrent’ on Facebook, Arthur Ernest ‘Foxy’ Knowling was the first Housemaster of Mullins House. He was an avid sportsman and was always available to take on any of the boys at tennis, hockey, squash or fives, and was also a keen golfer. His nickname apparently was as a result of his cunning court craft.

            Foxy’s wife, Ruth (nee Mullins), was the youngest of the fourteen children of Robert and Jennie Mullins. From 1864 to 1907 Robert was headmaster of the mission school that was in the buildings now occupied by Graham House.

            Foxy and Ruth had two daughters, Judy (born 1918) and Mary (born 1923), who grew up in Mullins House. In those days the catering for the boys was carried out in the House kitchen and dining hall under the supervision of the Housemaster’s wife.

            My father, Lamond ‘Jock’ Sturrock (Mullins 1928-33), was Head of House in 1933. One of the duties delegated to him by Foxy was to escort Judy to school at DSG in the mornings. It seems that a lasting bond formed during these walks to school as they married in 1940.

            Mary was a well-known doctor in the Grahamstown (now Makhanda) community for many years.

Dave McIntosh (Mullins 1956-60) shared the following:

Firstly a huge congratulations to Mullins and College on attaining this milestone or does one have to say kilostone??. The guys in the other houses used to call us Mullins College in what they thought was a derogatory tone but we all thought we Mullins boys stood apart just head and shoulders above the others!!! – and of course now just across the road from the Highlander even if it is out of bounds for the boys.

       Although some of us were lucky enough to stay for post matric our gang all wrote matric in 1959 and so many of those have remained my lifelong friends -the likes of Rob McWilliams, Brian Bowles, Neil Oldridge, Tudor Lacey, Peter Gradwell ( unfortunately shot by terrorists at the end of the Rhodesian Bush war). Johnny Ratcliffe, Jack Jarvis, Chris Bullen, Just to name a few. Actually Peter a more than useful cricketer  used to bowl medium pacers right handed , if he had not taken any wickets after a few overs he would start bowling left handed – not many can do that!!!

  An amusing incident that comes to mind ( few will remember it actually happened in 1959) Tudor, Neil, Brian and I shared a study upstairs just above what was then  the Housemaster’s study situated in the middle of the Mullins building. Brian was a great tease and loved at times annoying Tudor- anyway this happened and Tudor in his frustration threw one of Brian’s school books out the window. Well that was the start of tit for tat and before long all the books belonging  to Tudor & Brian were strewn on the path outside the Housemaster’s study. At some stage the Housemaster came out of his study with an amused look at the sight before him, made no comment and returned into his study. Brian & Tudor spent the next hour carting their books back up to our study much to the amusement of the Mullins boys .For our first four years Rex Woods was our Housemaster- a real gentleman, strict, fair with a solid canning stroke but admired by all the Mullins boys. In our last year it was Graham Dodds who has recently sadly passed away at a grand age in his nineties. In interesting character.

I had 5 wonderful happy schoolboy years in Mullins ( 1956 to 1960) my son Geordi also (1984 to 1988) my eldest grandson Sebastian (2017 – 2019), another grandson Noah at present in Mullins, and another grandson Andrew Ellis will be starting of course in Mullins next year. Mullins must be top of the pops!!!