Vetnews | Augustus 2024 32 « BACK TO CONTENTS facing the Adelaars’ house. A security iron gate was installed and we were locked in at 10 pm every night. The other end of the passage was the bathroom and I think there was only one bath but a couple of showers and toilets. A hardboard wall separated us from the male students. We were not allowed to go to the men’s hostel but could use the telephone on the ground floor at the back of the hostel. We often used the long tiekie as it was called if we had no coins for the phone. That was a piece of wire we used to scratch the connecting end. We could also contact male students, to borrow their books if we missed lectures. At the time Lente van der Merwe, Ingrid Wolleschak, Rosemary Muller and myself occupied the rooms. Another student, I think Doreen Labuschagne arrived later and also stayed there but she was only there for a couple of months. We were the largest class in the second year yet, namely 30 students but only 11 qualified in 1960. I qualified mid-year 1961 because I contracted Brucellosis during my final year and missed 2 months of classes. The girls ate at a separate table right at the top of the dining room. My parents moved to Pretoria North in 1957 and I left the hostel but Ada Schmidt-Dumont and Truuske Gerdes moved in and there were girls until 1963. Anne Lize Mordant, March 2024 David adds the following about Anne Lize: Anne Lize unveiled the bronze bust of Sir Arnold Theiler (made by Coert Steynberg) in c.1960 when she was in her final year. She made her own wedding dress, and wedding hat and covered a handbag to match. A girl of many talents, then and still now. David Mordant, July 2024 Ada Manon Alexandra Schmidt-Dumont BVSc 1961 Ada graduated from Onderstepoort in 1961. She also obtained a BVSc Honours degree from Onderstepoort in 1981. Ada was a state veterinarian in Namibia and passed away on 27 January 2017. Dr Anna Marais, the Associate Dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Namibia remembers Ada as follows: I knew Ada as a friend and colleague from 2004 until she died. Ada was retired by that time but worked part-time in the Namibian Veterinary Council office assisting with admin, and she and I worked there together for 11 years. Ada was passionate about the veterinary profession and her most beloved recollections were about training farmers and vets to do AI in the many short courses she offered at Neudamm Agriculture College during her time as State Vet for central Namibia. "Dis ‘n groot wit bulkalfie, Dokter" from a colleague doing a PD was one of her favourite sayings. She had a great sense of humour and brought treats to the entire office every Friday 13th. Ada never missed a chance to do a CPD course, never missed a veterinary association congress and was a proud member of our profession until the end. She took young colleagues under her wing and especially offered coaching and assistance to colleagues preparing for the Veterinary Council examinations. Ada was an enthusiastic member of the Windhoek Dog Club, organizer of many shows, provided vet checks for dogs travelling to shows in other countries and was a breeder of Corgis. Her dog Orcha sometimes came to the office with her. • Ada’s dog, Highleigh Chatterbox of Vonwindecke, a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, won the first prize in the veteran category at the dog show in Windhoek in 2016. Truuske Gerdes BVSc 1962 Truuske was born on 4 December 1939 and passed away on 21 October 2022. Her parents were from The Netherlands. She graduated in 1962 and spent 18 years in a small animal private practice in Cape Town. In 1983 she joined the Virology Section of the Onderstepoort Veterinary Research Institute. She became an internationally renowned virologist based on her superior diagnostic skills on the viruses of many species. Although Truuske was a shy person she was friendly, kind and always stylishly dressed. She is fondly remembered by many an old OVI colleague for her denim jacket that was bought with her first paycheck and that she still wore when she retired in 2010. It seems that the Ladies of Old Res, were quite an international group, hailing from The Netherlands, Germany, Namibia and South Africa and have contributed to veterinary science in their unique ways. This story was sparked by an email from Dr Ingrid Wolleschak who alerted the authors to the fact that female students were housed in a portion of Old Res in 1957 and 1958. If any of the readers of VetNews has information on the residences of Onderstepoort that they would like to share, please send an email to oldres100years@gmail.com v Anne Lize’s biography, compiled by Prof. Gareth Bath and the late Dr Rudolph Bigalke, was published in VetNews in September 2020. Truuske’s obituary – VetNews (page 28). Onderstepoort: the Ladies of Old Res <<<31
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