Welkom

History

Much of the history of Welkom is centred around the discovery of gold in the northwestern Free State. It was proclaimed a town in 1948, nine years after a major gold discovery was made in Odendaalsrus, just north of Welkom. The first prospecting in the area was done by the Englishmen Mr Donaldson and Mr Hinds on a portion of the farm Zoeten-Inval in 1896. The men discovered a small outcrop which seemed to be a conglomerate pebble reef, but they failed to raise interest among mining companies who at that stage did not believe that there was gold to be discovered south of the Vaal River. They returned to England to test the samples they had extracted, but died before reaching their destination when their ship sank in the Bay of Biscay. Prospector Arthur Megson heard of their venture and decided to investigate near the town of Odendaalsrus in 1904. He gathered samples of exposed strata near an outcrop, which by then was part of Hendrik Petrus Klopper's farm Aandenk. He too did not succeed in obtaining any interest from companies until October 1932, when he presented his findings to Allan Roberts and Mannie Jacobs. The area needed to be tested by drilling, and the first borehole was started on 5 May 1933. Jacobs managed to interest two men, Fritz Marx and Peter Woolf, in the venture and the Wit Extensions Company was formed later that year. Although the borehole, which by then penetrated more than 1200 metres, yielded 120-inch pennyweights of gold (roughly 480 centimetre grams per ton), it was not enough to garner financial assistance and the operation had to close due to depleted finances. (For gold ores to be payable in South Africa, the grade must typically exceed 960 cengrams – the equivalent of 8 grams per ton over a 120 cm stope width, which after dilution…

Geography

Koppie Alleen is the only hill near Welkom and therefore is aptly named for its oddity. The terrain elevation above sea level is 1435 metres. The largest water catchment is the Sand River to the south-east of Welkom in Virginia's direction. Large saline pans such as Flamingo Pan and Theronia Pan are situated to the south-west of Welkom. Flamingo Pan is coded as an Important Bird Area (IBA) * Rheederpark * West Bedelia * Welkom ext * Jim Fouche Park * Alma * Flamingo Park * Seemeeu Park * Dagbreek * Reitzpark * Stateway * Doorn * Welkom Central * Jan Cilliers Park * Naudeville * St Helena * Bedelia * Lake View South * Lake View North * Orangia * Welkom North * Riebeeckstad * Sandania * Bronville * Thabong Welkom is well known for its efficient road traffic design mainly through the use of traffic circles, which has been the basis of worldwide studies. This is encouraged by flow design, the minimum of stop streets and the total absence of traffic lights and parking meters in the Central Business District. There are currently 33 large traffic circles. Welkom has several monuments including: * Aandenk Monument – This borehole memorial is shaped in the form of a key and symbolises the unlocking of the Free State goldfields.(next to Allanridge) * Afrikaans Language Monument * Joanne Pim Monument * WWII Monument * Voortrekker Memorial * Dog Monument * Old Indaba Bluegum Tree * MOTH Memorial * Gold Museum – A complete history of gold and its mining and production was on display. St Helena Gold Mine is not a working mine any more. Until a few years ago It was still possible to visit the mine and its wine cellar at 857m below surface but it does not exist any more. * Museum of Welkom – The public library houses a display of the discovery of gold in Welkom, the city's…

Most-observed species

• Southern Masked-Weaver

  Ploceus velatus Vieillot, 1819 · Aves
  192
• Cape Wagtail

  Motacilla capensis Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  191
• Laughing Dove

  Spilopelia senegalensis (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  188
• White-browed Sparrow-Weaver

  Plocepasser mahali A.Smith, 1836 · Aves
  186
• Ring-necked Dove

  Streptopelia capicola (Sundevall, 1857) · Aves
  183
• Blacksmith Lapwing

  Vanellus armatus (Burchell, 1822) · Aves
  170
• Southern Red Bishop

  Euplectes orix (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  163
• Cape Sparrow

  Passer melanurus (Statius Muller, 1776) · Aves
  163

Most recent

• M 4.4 — 2024-04-30
  5 km NW of Allanridge, South Africa
• M 4.6 — 2022-06-15
  6 km SSW of Kutloanong, South Africa
• M 4.2 — 2021-07-14
  7 km SW of Welkom, South Africa
• M 4.5 — 2020-01-25
  11 km S of Welkom, South Africa
• M 4.4 — 2019-07-23
  27 km NNW of Theunissen, South Africa
• M 4.9 — 2019-03-22
  8 km WNW of Virginia, South Africa