A booming female voice reverberated through the Town of St. George. ?Oyez! Oyez! Oyez!? it shouted, echoing around King?s Square despite the blustery wind.

It was Anne Powell?s first audition as a Town Crier. In fact it was her first audition as anything. But she saw herself as ?extroverted? and ?interested in history?. ?Why not give it a go?? she asked.

It may be the strangest job in Bermuda. It?s undoubtedly one of the funniest. No wonder Ms Powell, one of two female applicants who auditioned for the post, took a fancy to the idea.

?I just thought I?d make a good one,? she said, before describing how St. George?s officials actually go choosing their larger than life historical mascot. ?It was a funny interview. Then they have you stand on the end of a dock and shout from this long piece of paper. It was a cold, windy day, but I enjoyed it. It was fun.?

Asked if she felt she was up against history because of the fact that there has never been a female town crier in Bermuda, she said: ?I just thought, why not? They have female town criers in England. I failed miserably. My voice could have been louder I guess.?

In fact, there have been eight female town criers in the United Kingdom, said Town Manager Lance Furbert.

Part of the reason Ms Powell said she was attracted to the job was ?history?.

But she said she liked the idea of being able to have some input into the costume. ?I think you choose your own design. What surprised me was that red and white are actually the colours of the Town of St. George?s. I didn?t know that.?

In the end, it was St. George?s resident and Bermuda Islands Pipe Band Major David Frith who got the job out of five applicants. He gladly took on the role of a figure whose main job is to dunk hapless wenches into the sea, dressed in full fig in front of crowds of enraptured tourists.

Mr. Furbert said he was not aware of any women having applied for the job in the past. He said there was ?no reason why a woman should not take on the role?, although he noted that in 18th and 19th centuries women tended be sidelined from such jobs. Mr. Furbert explained the ?cry-teria? for choosing who got the job ranged from listening to the steadiness of the voice and the person?s ability to project it to their overall presence and also their knowledge of the town?s history.

?It?s not just about loudness. We?ve had town criers who were very loud indeed but some ladies, although they don?t have the strongest voices, still are very effective.?

Shy people aren?t the best suited for the job, he said. ?You definitely need to be an extrovert. It needs to be someone who is proud to be the Town Crier and proud to be in St. George?s... We want someone to bring their own style to the role.

?It?s really a living historical project where what we?re doing is recreating things from the past.?