WELKOM

city, Free State province, South Africa, southwest of Johannesburg. It was founded in 1947 amid goldfields, the development of which brought rapid growth, quickly making it the province's second largest town. It attained municipal status in 1961 and was declared a city in 1968. Unlike many gold-mining towns, it was carefully planned from the beginning around a horseshoe-shaped shopping and administrative area that surrounds a park of 11 acres (4.5 hectares). In addition to gold- and uranium-mining, Welkom has many industries, including slaughtering, steelmaking, sawmilling, and a variety of manufactures. The city has a technical college, a technological institute, and an airport. Pop. (1985) 54,488.