The Transvaal University College, with branches in Johannesburg and Pretoria, took the examinations of the Cape University. The Pretoria branch of the Transvaal University College, which started classes in 1908 in the house Kya Rosa, in Skinner Street, became an autonomous institution by Act No 1 of 1910, largely through efforts by General J.C. Smuts. This institution was the forerunner of the Pretoria University, which came into existence on 29 November 1929. In 1930, the University was established as an independent university by the Private Act on the University of Pretoria (Act No. 13 of 1930). In 1932 the University Council resolved that the university would provide tuition for primarily Afrikaans-speaking students. Since the 1990s the profile of the institution has been transformed from a mainly White, Afrikaans institution, to a bilingual national university accessible to all South Africans.
Event record
University of Pretoria is established
- Updated
- 15 Apr 2019

Transvaal University College in 1910. Image source
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- 01'Pretoria 1855-2005: Chronologie 1798-1935', Bylaag tot Rekord.
- 02Potgieter, D.J. et al. (eds)(1970). Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa, Cape Town: NASOU, v. 9, p. 110.
Last updated · 15 Apr 2019
South African History Online. (2011, March 16). University of Pretoria is established. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011505
South African History Online (2011) 'University of Pretoria is established', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011505 (Accessed: 5 August 2026).
South African History Online, University of Pretoria is established [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011505, (accessed 5 August 2026).
"University of Pretoria is established." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011505. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.
South African History Online. "University of Pretoria is established." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011505.
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Cape St Francis, Western Cape Peninsula
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