One hundred years ago, Hamilton held a double celebration: city status was conferred on the town that had supplanted St. George's as Bermuda's capital.

That was deemed a fitting way in which to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee and a huge celebration was held in Hamilton in June, 1897.

To commemorate the centennial of its status, the Corporation of Hamilton commissioned a history of the Island's capital.

In a curiously ungracious Preface, the late Marian Robb is acknowledged as having received the commission back in the 1980s. For whatever reason, her manuscript remained unfinished at the time of her death in 1993. It was then decided to extend her original break-off point of 1972 to the city's centenary of 1997. The book has also been revised and, presumably, completely re-written by historian Colin Benbow.

Confined to unembellished facts, the history proves to be a no-frills account of the city's governance over the past century. The volume is well illustrated with colour, archival and contemporary black and white photos.

Much of the book centres around issues of `municipal housekeeping,' including essential concerns such as traffic, docks, and fire services.

From the beginning, transportation (or lack of it) was a concern. With cars banned by the 1908 Act, the use of horses brought constant criticism over the state of the city's streets. The upsurge in tourism after the end of World War I brought increased shipping and the eventual decision to provide much-needed public transportation through the introduction of a railway. From 1931, Front Street became the hub of train activity.

Another fairly constant controversy has been the Corporations's policy of secrecy: as early as 1913, reveals Mr. Benbow, letters to the newspapers were complaining about the banning of the press at meetings -- a grumble that still surfaces, to this day.

Events of the larger world are also reflected in Hamilton's story, the first `international' reference being World War I, when Bermudian soldiers marched through the city prior to embarking for Europe.

The year 1919 found Hamilton once more preoccupied with Royalty as Edward, the Prince of Wales, visited Bermuda and laid the cornerstone of the City's cenotaph war memorial.

World War II brought more privations although, as the author points out, the influx of the American military virtually saved Hamilton's retail sector.

Mr. Benbow agrees with Marian Robb's assertion that 1949 marked the advent of "the modern era:'' cars had already been introduced, wartime restraints were a thing of the past, and the tourist industry was resurgent.

City status took a more tangible form when the new City Hall was officially opened in 1960, but even as the Corporation received praise for its civic awareness, there was a growing realisation that rapid city expansion brought its own problems -- not least aesthetic ones which found the Anglican Cathedral now gazing out over a large supermarket.

Although there had been virtually no civil disturbances in the city's first 60 years, Mr. Benbow notes that the modern era also brought the first stirrings of urban violence.

A peaceful transition in 1959 which saw the end of segregation in public places (hotels, restaurants, cinemas, etc.) was followed in the 1960s by riots, causing the first State of Emergency to be declared in 1968. In the '70s, a string of murders, culminating in the assassination of Governor Richard Sharples were followed in 1977 by serious riots when it was decided to execute the perpetrators.

On a happier note, Cecil Dismont was elected in 1988 as first black mayor, there was another visit from the Queen in 1994 and, as the City prepares for the millennium, there is a new emphasis on image and cultural pursuits as epitomised by Secretary Roger Sherratt's popular concerts in the park.

This book should add a valuable new resource for students and all those who are interested in Bermuda's history.

PATRICIA CALNAN Dunscombe Collection/Bermuda Archives Photo BLAZING FORTUNES -- The ill-fated Bermudiana Hotel, which caught fire on September 4, 1958, smouldered for four days before firemen extinguished the blaze. The fire however left one of Hamilton's premiere resorts in a shambles.

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