Although residents may not have noticed, up until last night there were at least two roads in the City of Hamilton that did not have names.

That was corrected in a naming ceremony last night however, where the streets were named in honour of prominent Bermudians and their families.

The first street is the main access road leading to Bulls Head car park, running between Dundonald Street West and Canal Road. The road was a dirt footpath for many years, and became the road to Bulls Head before the car park was even built. However as it did not lead to any houses, it was never named - in spite of Police suggestions to do so.

According to Corporation Secretary Roger Sherratt, Police occasionally dealt with accidents or incidents on the road, and did not know what to call it.

The road was last night named 'Jackson's Way' in honour of the Jackson family of Jackson's School of Performing Arts fame.

The family has lived in the City since the early 1800s and in the immediate area for many years, traversing the way countless times when it was just a rough pathway.

"The Jackson family is such an integral part of the City of Hamilton that we simply cannot imagine life without them," said Mayor of Hamilton Lawson Mapp last night.

Members of the family include the first black man to be called to the Bermuda Bar, the second black man to be elected to the House of Assembly, and one of the founders of the Berkeley Educational Society.

More recently they have included two Senators (one serving as president of the Senate), the president of an international insurance company, a Government Minister, and of course the founder of the Jackson School of Performing Arts.

"I guess we have certainly been active over the years," said family member and former president of the Senate Albert Jackson . However he added: "This honour came as a complete surprise to me".

Mr. Jackson and his wife Louise, founder of the Jackson School, along with brother Lionel "Shirley" Jackson, attended the ceremony last night. The Jackson brothers and their sister, Sarah Swan were all born at Brooklyn Cottage, the first house on the street prior to the family moving into their grandfather's home at nearby Brooklyn Manor.

The second street runs from Church Street to Victoria Street between the City Hall building and the City Hall car park. As it did not lead to any houses, it was never named - however last night it was named Dismont Drive in honour of the City's first black mayor, Cecil Dismont.

Mr. Dismont served as a member of the Corporation for 36 years, holding the position of mayor from 1988-1994. This marks the first time in history that a City Street has been named after a mayor.

"He's very excited, very honoured, and very pleased," said his wife, Lee Dismont. "He would like to say thank-you to the Corporation."

Mr. Dismont and his wife attended last night's ceremony, along with a group of close family and friends.

Other streets in the City of Hamilton have been named after people - Reid Street, Ewing Street, Brunswick Street, and Laffan Street, for example - however these were usually named after governors or military men. None appear to have been Bermudians.

"Because of these outstanding citizens, our City has grown to new heights of success as an international business centre, the centre of local commerce, and also as a visitor attraction," said Mr. Mapp.

Mr. Mapp also thanked another former mayor, William Boyle for his donation of the Desmond Fountain sculpture 'The Big Whopper', which depicts a boy fishing.

The sculpture joins two others in the middle of the fountains in front of City Hall.