The writer of the accompanying 1889 article in the Royal Gazette Bermuda Commercial and General Advertiser an Recorder expressed the hope that the public would "appreciate. and take pride in" the newly-erected Bandstand in Victoria Park.

To the surprise of visiting restoration experts Andrew Laing and David Mitchell, they and the Corporation of Hamilton have done just that for successive generations.

"It is a remarkable gem," Mr. Laing assures.

While the distinctive structure, erected 108 years ago to mark the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria, still looks good for its age, astonishingly so in the opinion of the Scotsmen, appearances can be deceiving, as Corporation of Hamilton parks superintendent Steven DeSilva, the man responsible for the maintenance and development of Hamilton's parks, discovered.

"I thought a paint job was in order, so I spoke to contractors and got some ideas, but in accessing the Internet I began to realise that there was more involved than a lick of paint," he says. Further research and a general SOS for advice led to the name of the Scottish foundry where the bandstand was made (Messrs. George Smith & Co., the Sun Foundry, Glasgow), and ultimately to Mr. Laing, managing director of Andrew Laing and Sons Ltd., brass and iron founders, and Mr. Mitchell, of Historic Scotland, a government agency looking after built heritage.

The duo became friends through working together on the restoration and replication of ironworks, and in 2000 set up the charitable Scottish Ironwork Foundation. "We were really frustrated that Scotland was the world leader in manufacturing these kind of things (fountains, buildings, etc.) and nobody seemed to care apart from us, and certainly not around the world," Mr. Laing says.

"The idea was to make the public aware of all the ironwork outside their living room windows. There was more architectural ironwork exported from Scotland from about 1850 to 1940, and there were three big companies in Scotland of which George Smith & Co. was one."

Today, the Foundation deals with inquiries from around the world, but Bermuda is a "first". With contact firmly established between the Corporation of Hamilton and Messrs. Laing and Mitchell, the wheels were set in motion for the Scottish experts to visit and do a complete survey of the bandstand, after which they will submit a report and recommendations to the Corporation.

It will not, however, become a dust-collector on the shelves of City Hall because Mr. DeSilva is adamant that the City fathers are firmly committed to restoring the structure to its former glory.

"As a representative of the Corporation, I am very excited about undertaking a project which I am certain will be very beneficial to the City, and obviously a major plus for Victoria Park," he says.

"It is another example of the Corporation looking to improve on the product.

"I have every indication that we are going to move on with this in earnest, and get the bandstand back to its original glory, knowing that it is a very important part of history."

To the average passer-by, the structure appears complete, yet parts of the original are missing, and the ceiling and light fixtures are obvious later replacements.

"Two complete bays of baluster panels are missing, as is the entrance gate, and weather vane," Mr. Mitchell says.

"The original ceiling would have been tongue-and-groove timber, which allowed the roof to reverberate and force the music out into the park," he added in an opinion that was substantiated in the 1899 newspaper article.

Having completed a thorough inspection of the structure from top to bottom, including spending time in the stifling confines of the sun-baked roof, the experts are both fascinated and thrilled with what they have found.

"We are pretty sure it is the only one left in the world because these were often made as a catalogue item, and we have a catalogue drawing of it," Mr. Laing says.

"Most of it is cast iron, and some elements are made of wrought iron and steel.

The firm in Scotland would have made it complete in their yard, then taken it apart and shipped it across the ocean with some men to re-erect it.

We found all the fabrication markings. Inside the roof structure each element is numbered, with 'Bermuda Bandstand' in beautiful Victorian letters on it."

Despite the number of bandstands the experts have restored, in their experience this one has unique features which they have not encountered before, such as the corrugated iron roof, and design elements apparently geared to our climate.

"It is over-constructed, and presumably designed to withstand hurricanes," Mr. Mitchell says. "The roof structure is real belt-and-braces stuff, and there are timber joists which run over, but what makes the shape of the roof is wrought iron."

According to the 1889 Gazette article, the original colour was "a sort of subdued, dull-grey colour", but the inspectors said they have found evidence of deep cream, and red and green paint on the roof.

They have also discovered evidence of electricity in the form of ceramic insulation, but suggest that the original lighting might have been hanging oil or gas lamps.

In this regard, Mr. DeSilva says it is his hope to do "a proper restoration with special fittings, or bring in temporary lighting as required".

"We are really pleased that the Corporation is thinking the right way," Mr. Mitchell says.

"A lot of things we see are very poorly looked after."

To get it absolutely right, which is the intention, will not come cheaply, and will involve some very skilled, detailed and time-consuming craftsmanship.

For example, the creation of a baluster panel is a multi-faceted process which begins with a hand-carved timber pattern.

From that a sand mould is made, into which molten metal is poured, and the end result is a casting in the exact shape and design required.

"On the roof each baluster panel is made up of a left hand and a right hand panel, plus the centre panel. There are eight bays, so you would have to make eight mouldings for the centre panel alone," Mr. Laing says. "Because it is all hand made, it might take six hours to make a sand mould.

"You would be talking several weeks to make the pattern, but once you have it you can then make as many moulds as you want.

"The moulds are destroyed in casting. It is quite expensive because of today's labour costs."

When Mr. Laing and Mr. Mitchell established The Scottish Ironwork Foundation, they were on their own. Today they are joined by three trustees: an architect, an engineer, and someone from an educational background. We have just published our first book on Walter MacFarlane, owner of the largest architectural iron foundry in the world. It was the size of nine football pitches and employed 25,000 men. He lasted until 1967," Mr. Mitchell says.

Mr. Laing is proud of the fact that his foundry still makes bandstands, but notes that the firm is "the last of our type, producing ironwork traditionally".

"It is a family business, and all I ever wanted to do since I was five years old was to create ornamental ironworks, but I never believed it would lead me to Bermuda."