FOR the first time in almost 50 years, the Museum of the Bermuda Historical Society (BHS) is receiving a much-needed overhaul.

The museum will be closed for the next two months and when it reopens in March will for the first time represent Bermuda's growing multicultural community.

Andrew Bermingham, president of the BHS, said the interior ambience and uniqueness would remain unchanged, but the museum currently only reflects "white Bermuda" and this was something that needed to change.

"We have to. Wonderful things were donated by wonderful people 100 years ago, but we have to recognise that some of this furniture was made by slave craftsman for slave owners," he said.

"We have to make the museum more all-encompassing. more reflective of Bermudian history as a whole, and we're committed to doing just this."

Mr. Bermingham said research had been ongoing for years by a committee, which includes Arthur DeSilva, John Cox, Shirley Pearman and himself, while consultant and designer Will Collieson has been charged with doing the upgrade work to the museum.

"The first thing we have to do is take care of the physical part. The walls need refurbishing and there's a lot of damp, so we basically have to take care of the physical structure," he said.

The BHS, a non-profit organisation, was founded in 1895 and the Georgian-style house, which fringes Par-la-Ville Park, includes artefacts from bygone times, giving visitors a glimpse into life in Bermuda up to 400 years ago. In fact, the collection of Bermuda cedar furniture dates almost entirely from the 18th century, while founding father Sir George Somers' lodestone ¿ for magnetising his compass needles ¿ dates from the 1600s.

"The object is to take this museum to a slightly higher level and make it more attractive to all Bermudians," Mr. Bermingham said, but he was quick to add that exhibits would never become touch-button operated and guests would always be allowed to walk through the exhibits freely and literally be allowed to touch objects normally kept behind glass in other museums.

The museum is also one of the few in Bermuda that also has no admission fee and, Mr. Bermingham insisted, never would.

"Tom Butterfield, from Masterworks, will allow us to show paintings of the role black Bermudians played in Bermuda over the centuries, and our aim is to get our school children and local residents in here," he said.

"The feeling is that you are going back in time and we won't change that, but we will broaden it.

"Of all the charities in Bermuda, this is one of the oldest and we have a rich tradition of wonderful historians who have been associated with it.

"But our membership has aged and, with an ageing membership, we have a duty to ensure that these treasures are kept for posterity for Bermuda. And we want this to become Hamilton's primary museum, part of Bermuda's history and culture and we want to make sure people come through our doors."

Mr. Bermingham said overtures had been made to a number of younger historians, some connected to the Bermuda Maritime Museum and some with the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs.

He said various ministers, including Social Rehabilitation Minister Dale Butler, had taken a personal interest in the museum and the Bermuda National Library had come on board to include a Bermuda historic reading room, which would allow visitors and locals to read historic documents and books which up to now have been kept behind locked doors.

The renovation is a partnership between the BHS and the Corporation of Hamilton, the Bermuda National Library and Masterworks.

In future the museum will also offer a free research service for members of the public wanting information about former servicemen buried in any of the military graveyards across the island.

"The exhibit will reflect Bermuda as a whole as opposed to a white Bermuda 200 years ago. We know what we need to do and we're committed to doing it."