NEWLY elected East End Member of Parliament Suzann Holshouser will tell the House of Assembly when it reconvenes today that she is launching a petition to have St. David's officially recognised as Bermuda's tenth parish.

Ms Holshouser , an Opposition backbencher, said she spent a year canvassing in her constituency ? which includes much of St. David's Island ? prior to the July 24 General Election and the topic of Government recognising St. David's as a separate parish was a constant theme during her travels.

"It's the one subject that was constantly being raised by people ? when will St. David's qualify to be a Parish," she said. "For St. David Islanders, this is a matter of historic pride: they would like formal recognition of the fact that St. David's Island ? although always a part of Bermuda ? has played its own unique role in the long drama of Bermudian history and culture.

"It is not a part of St. George's either geographically or, in some ways, culturally; the fact that it was included in St. George's when the Parish system was established in Bermuda after Richard Norwood's survey in the 17th century was just a cartographer's whim. It was not based on anything more substantial than the fact it lies adjacent to St. George's Island.

"The question of recognising St. David's as a separate parish from St. George's has been raised many times in the past; indeed over the years I believe that three other petitions have been started based around this subject. But none of them ever reached the House of Assembly."

Ms Holshauser said as a result of urging from her constituents, she will personally take the new petition door-to-door around St. David's to gather both signatures and emotional support for the drive. "Over the years, many St. David's Islanders have dropped 'St. George's' from their addresses and now include only St. David's," she said. "After all Dennis' Hideaway is not actually located in the area known as St. George's and St. George's does not have a lighthouse.

"While the legal aspects of this petition remain under review, it reflects the view shared by many in the community. And I look forward to representing the desires of the community of St. David's in the House of Assembly. "Frankly, many of the parochial responsibilities that the old Parish Vestry system used to take on for were absorbed by Bermuda's Government when the new constitution was promulgated in 1968.

"So for 35 years now, the St. George's Parish Vestry has had very little say in practical, day-to-day matters relating to the administration of St. David's. From an administrative and logistical point of view, therefore, there seems to be little reason not to recognise the obvious ? that St. David's is and always has been an independent entity from St. George's."