A Day in the Life of the University of Pretoria. 28 March 1979

On this "Day in the life of the University of Pretoria" the Head of the Department of History was tarred and feathered.

“That was quite something!” Such was the reaction of the well-known historian, Prof F.A. van Jaarsveld, when interviewed by the press after he had been tarred and feathered in the stately senate hall at UNISA on the evening of 28 March 1979. He was in the middle of giving an academic lecture, expanding on his controversial views regarding the meaning of the Day of the Covenant, when members of the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (Afrikaner Resistance Movement) resorted to drastic action. Having been aware of the professor’s personal opinions, they converged on UNISA for the occasion. Photographs and reports of the incident made headlines and it was met with widespread condemnation.

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