P.W.J. Groenewald papers

P.W.J. Groenewald (1906-1976), teacher, cultural leader and politician, was born and raised in Caledon in the Cape. In 1933 he obtained an M.A. degree in Afrikaans-Dutch and the Higher Commercial Teacher's Diploma in 1934. He taught Afrikaans to English-speaking people from 1927 until he retired as senior lecturer at the Natal Technical College in 1944. In 1945, Pieter Groenewald entered politics when he joined the United Party; he represented Pietermaritzburg South in the Provincial Council and was made a member of the Executive Committee after his election in 1949. In 1958 he was elected a senator. He resigned from the United Party in 1963 and joined the National Party and, in 1966, was appointed a nominated senator of this party.