During an overseas visit by the former rector, Prof HJJ (Hennie) Bingle to various universities in the USA, Europe, and the East, he said, following a visit to Japan, that he did not like “residences with long corridors”. The architect, Mr. WO (Willem) Meyer, complied with this requirement and he was asked to design the Student Centre (SC) and the residences Vergeet-my-nie, Wag-’n-Bietjie, Kasteel and Wanda. The first two of the group to be built were Fort and Kasteel. These residences were originally intended for male students but there was an inflow of women and consequently a huge shortage of accommodation. The then Registrar of Finance made two recommendations to the rector, Prof Bingle: that prefabricated asbestos buildings are erected for men, and that the residences Fort and Kasteel be fitted out for women.

Obviously, the residences did not have facilities for women and they had to be modified quickly. In 1974 Fort’s name was changed to Wanda women’s residence, with Prof Albert Viljoen as the first house master. The residence name Wanda is derived from the name of the orchid Vanda. Vanda is the name of an exceptional genus of orchids and thus the name Wanda was born. It is a name you can be proud of because not only is every ‘Wanda resident’ someone special in her own right but we are also a family – a home away from home. Wanda stands out above other residences thanks to our passion for uniqueness, the manner in which we accept each other and because time has not left us behind. Balance is important to us and therefore we are active on the sports field, on a stage and we have bundles of energy when we raise funds for the less fortunate wearing our way-out outfits. Wanda women’s residence – First-Choice-Residence head and shoulders above the rest!