historic town of St. George's and the Island's ability to look after it, Bermuda National Trust director Amanda Outerbridge said.

She was speaking after the news came last December that the East End town and its surrounding fortifications had been placed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation's World Heritage Site list.

"This is a major event for the whole Island to celebrate. The citizens of St.

George's are to be congratulated for the way they looked after their town so it remains a major part of Bermuda's heritage,'' she said.

Ms Outerbridge, who was involved in the application process from its beginning, recognised that there were a number of responsibilities attached to the inscription and there was a management plan in place to help with this.

"This plan is to ensure that everything that happens in the town in the future respects its newfound global conservation status. We could not have achieved inscription without this commitment,'' she said.

All of Bermuda now had a role to play in ensuring the town retained the World Heritage Site designation, she continued, which would be made easier by the fact that Bermuda was increasingly embracing the concepts of conservation.

Ms Outerbridge pointed to the advent of the Government Listing of Buildings of Historic or Architectural Importance as an example.

"But perhaps even more important,'' she noted, "we want to continue to protect it so that future generations will have the opportunity to see and appreciate its charm and beauty and enjoy its fascinating history.'' The Trust has worked on the conservation of St. George's for decades and a number of its historic buildings are located in the town. Some $3 million was spent by the Trust on restoring its properties there during the past five years.

And in 1998 the Trust published a book on St. George's as part of its Architectural Heritage series which later served to provide research background for the World Heritage Site application.

Amanda Outerbridge was vital to achieving World Heritage Status