anniversary celebrations.

Hamilton, Bermuda: City and Capital , written by veteran Bermuda journalist Marian Robb and historian Colin Benbow, recounts the Island's history and is a sequel to Sister Jean de Chantal Kennedy's Biography of a Colonial Town .

Publishing was initially planned to co-incide with celebrations of the bicentennial of the Town of Hamilton in 1993, but due to various hiccups, the completed work did not materialise.

The Corporation commissioned Miss Robb to write the book in the 1980's, detailing important events between 1987 and 1972, the three-quarter mark in its first century as a City. It was after her death, in 1994 at the age of 89, that Mr. Benbow was asked to re-write Miss Robb's findings and carry the story forward.

Said Mr. Benbow in the book's preface: "I tend to keep the chapters short, so what you read is an overview. To deal with sewers, wharves and streets in great detail must surely bore the average reader to tears, but for those who desire further information, continue on to the end where the views and recollections of seasoned professionals have been included.'' Miss Robb, who also wrote a history of the first 150 years of The Royal Gazette , came to Bermuda from America in 1954 to work for the Mid-Ocean News , then a daily. In 1968 she switched to The Royal Gazette , where she reported for another 20 years.

Mr. Benbow arrived in Bermuda in 1955 as a teacher at Warwick Academy. He took his MA degree in 1958 and was granted Bermuda status in 1963. For 20 years he taught at all levels. He helped form the Academic Sixth Form Centre in 1967, and later was the first history tutor at the Bermuda College. For 30 years he lectured on early American history for the University of Maryland's extension programme in the University of Maryland's extension programme on the US Base.

Elected to the House of Assembly for the 1976-1980 Parliament, he was appointed to the panel of Chairman. One of numerous subsequent achievements and awards, he was granted Assistant Professor status in 1983.

According to Mr. Benbow: "When Marian Stewart Robb died in 1994, Bermuda lost not only a well-respected parliamentary reporter and art critic, but the likely author of Hamilton, Bermuda: City and Capital .'' Marian Robb Colin Benbow GOVERNMENT GVT 100 YEARS ANNIVERSARY ANN