Commissioner’s House in Dockyard has been officially reopened nearly two years after the old structure sustained major structural damage in back-to-back hurricanes.

Michael Dunkley conducted an official roof wetting yesterday afternoon by pouring rum over the new roof of the building.

The Premier was joined by several Cabinet colleagues including Sylvan Richards, Jeanne Atherden and Wayne Scott for the ceremony on top of Commissioner’s House yesterday afternoon.

“My colleagues and I were pleased to see the extensive repairs reach their conclusion and the team at the National Museum should be commended for their efforts,” said Mr Dunkley. “These critical upgrades, refurbishments and improvements will help the historic building withstand future storm damage, and this will help greatly in protecting the invaluable artefacts housed in this great building.”

The National Museum was severely damaged in hurricanes in 2014 and 2015 when almost all the buildings in its upper grounds, including the Commissioner’s House and the Curatorial Department, sustained major structural roof damage and flooding.

Commissioner’s House had been closed since October 2014 but opened to the public again on May 9, this year, while the Curatorial Department had to relocate into a small temporary office.

Curator Elena Strong revealed that more behind-the-scenes roof strengthening would be carried out in the coming months as well as the refurbishment of the Curatorial Department. She said the museum should be fully operation by the end of the year.

“For the past 18 months the museum has been carrying out extensive repair and restoration work on Commissioner’s House in order to strengthen and conserve its largest artefact,” she added.

“Work entailed replacing the entire roof of Commissioner’s House with a modern steel system and carrying out major restorative work on the castiron truss system.

“The 300 linear feet of castiron fascia and the castiron veranda pillars are also being restored. We are thrilled that the House is back open so we can properly carry out our mandate.”