The official portrait of former Hamilton Mayor Charles Gosling was formally unveiled this evening in a ceremony at City Hall.

Mr Gosling told an audience of around 50 people that he wanted his portrait to be painted by a Bermudian artist, and note the accomplishments of his administration and the team who he served with.

The painting by Samantha Gosling, Mr Gosling’s cousin, depicts the former mayor sitting in front of a small version of the ‘We Arrive’ statue and a picture of his cabinet.

Reflecting on his time in office, Mr Gosling said: “When I came to office of Mayor, it was the same moment that the Government at that time announced it’s intention to wind up the office of the two municipalities into the appropriate ministries,” he said.

“I was lucky enough to have the support of three teams at that time; my fellow board members, the management of the Corporation and the management of my employer. Eventually we also ended up with the support of a fourth team: the community.

“With the support of those four teams we left the office, while still under some threat, in a much stronger sense then when we arrived.”

He said his administration also worked to improve transparency in City Hall, opening up meetings to the public and publishing its annual budgets.