The Church Council of the Moeder Kerk renamed the classicist hall, with its ionic columns and Greek pediment, after the man, whose Bible classes first led to the erection of the building (in 1900): N J Hofmeyer, one of the first two professors of the Stellenbosch seminary.
Ex students of some 50 or 60 years ago remember the CVJ Hall primarily as a venue for well-attended meetings of the debating societies and mass meetings of the students.
There was, for instance, the night in March 1930 when C J Langenhoven addressed the Union Debating Society. Having been introduced by the chairman, Langenhoven took a step forward, stared intently over the heads towards the back of the hall, pointed dramatically at the door behind us, and called out in a loud voice: "My friend, what lies around the corner?" We, foolish young students, spun around in concert to see who the friend might be. But with this trick, Langenhoven had caught our attention, and once the laughter had subsided, he proceeded to deliver a brilliant talk on all that might await us "around the corner."
Ters van Huyssteen, Footloose in Stellenbosch

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