building on Princess Street to discuss the feasibility of establishing a racially-mixed secondary school.

Comprised of Mr. Robinson, Joseph Henry Thomas, William Henry Thomas Joell, Charles William Thomas Smith, William Orlando F. Bascome, John Henry T.

Jackson, Henry T. Dyer and Samuel Parker Sr. and Jr., the group dubbed itself the Berkeley Educational Society and sought to memorialise the failed efforts of renowned 18th Century philosopher, George Berkeley, Bishop of Cloyne.

According to Dr. Kenneth E. Robinson, in his book, The Berkeley Educational Society's Origins and Early History , it was Bishop Berkeley's idea, long before the abolition of slavery in 1834, to develop a college in Bermuda for the education of local white boys and American Indians.

Government gave conditional backing to the idea, but set up a trust fund for the classical education of local white boys only. Land was purchased, buildings erected, and the Devonshire College opened in 1829 only to close in 1835 due to a lack of public support.

"A little more than a decade and a half later, Rev. William C. Dowding appeared on the Bermuda scene, advocating the revival of Bishop Berkeley's college for the benefit of white boys, as originally planned, and youths of African descent rather than young American Indians.'' That thought aroused the ire of reactionary whites and Rev. Dowding arrived to find scrawled on the walls of Hamilton: `Wanted -- rotten eggs to welcome the man coming here to establish a college for the (blacks)'.

Animosity among some influential whites was so strong that it caused one Member of Parliament, via the Herald newspaper, to warn the clergyman against disturbing the status quo, and to leave matters pertaining to education and the mixing of races to the upper class, who knew best.

There were other whites however, who gave Rev. Dowding absolute support, and St. Paul's school opened in January, 1853, with twenty-four students, of whom two or three were white.

According to Dr. Robinson: "...(It) therein afforded the coloured community its initial taste of academic instruction by means of a curriculum which offered Latin, Greek, Euclid, French, Spanish, geography, history, drawing and vocal music...'' One of the students was John H.T. Jackson who became the first black elected to the House of Assembly. One of the youngest teachers was Joseph Henry Thomas who was also assistant-secretary of the auxiliary known as `The Berkeley Club', which was formed to help run the school.

Rev. Dowding returned to England to procure further support for the Bermuda project and in his continued absence, St. Paul's closed its doors in 1856.

The first meeting of the Berkeley Educational Society took place at the Town Hall in Hamilton on January 1, 1880, afterwhich invitations were issued to people throughout the Island in hopes of receiving their co-operation.

A management committee was soon formed, of which the chairman, and two members were white.

Meetings continued, as did attempts to gain financial aid and support from the community. And so it was, that on the 6th of September, 1897, the Berkeley Institute opened under the leadership of Jamaican-born George A. DaCosta in the ground floor of the Samaritan's Lodge on Court Street. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Samuel David Robinson Portrait of the first site of the Berkeley Institute, the Old Samaritan's Lodge, Court Street GOVERNMENT GVT 100 YEARS ANNIVERSARY ANN