1953,
the township company handed control over to the Welkom Village
Management Board, the amount received in return being very much below
the assets handed over. What had been created was a town, which in the
course of rather less than ten years has become the second largest city
in the Orange Free State, with an aggregate population in December
1958 of 92,000—the twelfth city in the Union so far as size is
concerned.96 The total population of the four towns created
by the gold-mining industry, directly and indirectly (including the
Native labour housed by the mining companies), is reaching the 200,000
mark. The four towns are attracting an industrial population, some
employed by secondary industries directly dependent upon the mining
industry itself, and some employed by industries attracted by the
improved facilities and geographical advantages of the area. In these
respects, the new gold-field is repeating the history of the
Witwatersrand.
The
hopes entertained by Ernest Oppenhcimer that it might be possible to
create a stable labour force by the construction of adequate quarters
for married Natives and their families were doomed to disappointment.
The fact that in the Free State mining operations started from scratch
enabled great advances to be made in the design, internal and external,
of the hostels provided for unmarried Native labourers, as regards
sanitary facilities, living quarters, kitchens and access to and from
the mines themselves. Considerations of efficiency and considerations
of human happiness both played a role; the steadily increasing
competition for Native labour also made it desirable to increase
amenities and comforts97 so as to reduce the wastage involved
