Interview with Reinhard Hartmann – 1980 and Robert Hartmann – 1981
Reinhard came to St David’s in 1968 and specifically remembered the fountain at the entrance to the prep
school. He recalled being told by Mrs Kempster, who was quite a tough cookie, to put his cap on, as he
hadn’t been to a nursery school he had no experience of a formal environment.
There were still boarders at the school when he and his brother Robert initially started. Reinhard
remembered the swimming pool, science block and Mr Chipolat the Science teacher. He thoroughly
enjoyed standard 9. Br Timothy used to flick his fingers and say “Office! Boy!”. Robert has fond memories
of Heather Joseph who taught both himself and his younger brother Roland, Art. Br Bernard was the rugby
coach who would get the boys into a huddle saying their “Hail Mary’s” and then tell them to “Go Kill ‘em!”.
He was a good sculptor and photographer. They both remembered learning History by rote which made it
incredibly boring.
Reinhard felt that Trudy Elliot had the biggest influence on his life at St David’s, she was one of those
teachers who was interactive. He recalled the Great Gatsby, Macbeth and The Crucible, which he will
never forget and recently compared the two Gatsby movies with his family recently. Reinhard is still an avid
reader to this day. Robert also saw her many years after he finished school and said that she was well liked
by all the boys. Reinhard remembered Penny Richards who taught swimming and who, at the time he
thought to be the most beautiful woman in the world! Other teachers were Mr Boswell who was different
and calm, teaching Afrikaans and History. Mr McFadden was quite a character and Willy Castle also taught
both of them.
Br Timothy (Tin Man) ran the school with an iron fist and wasn’t particularly well liked. When he was
headmaster he made a speech on the boys’ last day threatening them that they would not matriculate if
they threw him into the swimming pool. There were not many brothers still teaching at the school when the
Reinhard and Robert came to the end of their school career.
The brothers felt that they were never frightened into believing the religious aspect of their education whilst
at St David’s whereas at Treverton they were exposed to Sunday movies with non believers burning in hell.
At Sat David’s there was religious instruction and a regular mass which was very formal and weekly
Confession. Robert remembers being an altar boy for one event. The boys used to strive to be an altar boy
but Chaplain Plesters didn’t interact with the boys outside of mass. Reinhard felt that he took away from
this a respect for his elders and other people. Education was not his priority and neither he or Robert were
great academics and in those days the parents didn’t get involved as they do today.
Reinhard remembers writing matric in the dorms. And that the theme of his matric dance was “Star Wars”.
Both brothers left St David’s for a short period of time, they had a very autocratic German father who
decided that there was too much emphasis on sport and not enough on academics. They both went for one
term to Sandown High where they were introduced to girls, Robert in standard 6 and Reinhard in standard
- From there they were sent to Treverton, a boarding school in Moii River. Robert came back to St David’s
at the beginning of the second term in standard 8 and Reinhard lasted until about three quarters of
standard 9. Both of them repeated a year, Robert standard 8 and Reinhard, standard 9.
Both brothers remembered being caned but usually for a good reason.
Reinhard had a drivers license in matric and drove an old Varient. A few boys Alphonso de Chaud, Enrico
Maraschin, Brian Muller and George Daras tutored him and helped him pass matric. Reinhard was
awarded scrolls for rugby and swimming and water polo. Reinhard played 1st rugby XV, was captain of the
‘A’ water polo team and captain of Bishops house
Robert was vice captain of the ‘A’ swimming team, vice captain of the 2nd rugby XV and captained the
Western province team, ‘A Water Polo team, a prefect and was awarded an honours blazer, scrolls for
prefect, werit and water polo.
After leaving school, Reinhard was accepted at Durban University to study a BComm but didn’t go. A friend
of his father offered him a job in the laboratory field, then he followed his father and got involved in design
and kitchens. In 1983 he went to Germany for three years to a college specialising in the furniture industry.
Afterwards, in 1986 he went on a business trip with his father to the United States arriving just after the
space shuttle blew up. Three months later both Reinhard and Robert were in the States, in Atlanta for one
and half years until their father returned to South Africa and Reinhard and Robert closed the business.
Reinhard rejoined the family business in 1994 and asked Robert to join him when their father retired and
the two of them took over the business – Hartmann and Kepler. Keppler was their grandfather’s cousin, a
cabinet maker.
Robert completed a year at an audit firm as a junior clerk after leaving St David’s and rewrote Maths. He
eventually went to work in the family business and did an apprenticeship in cabinet making for four years
and went to the US in 1985-6. He then did his national service and joined the audit firm Meyer, Wilson and
Marsh completing his articles there and studied for a degree through Unisa. He worked one year for an
adult education company before returning to the family business.
Reinhard felt that one of the saddest things when he left St David’s was that he didn’t know what the ANC
was, although the country was in political turmoil he had been sheltered and was not aware of Mandela
until he went to Germany.
The brothers’ father, Gunter was an old boy of Koch Street and spent a short time at St David’s
Robert has three sons two who currently attend St David’s and Reinhard has two daughters who attended
St Mary’s. (Both at Stellenbosch). They have a brother Roland who also attended St David’s and is living in
London.
JE October 2013
