FOR over a century, Bermuda’s most irresistible male has been a man of wood and lately, one of stone. Children clamber all over him, squealing in delight all the while. Models have adorned his handsome fa|0xe7|ade, some more scantily clothed that others, as seen in a picture from a 1970s Bermuda calendar. He is none other than “King Neptune”, figurehead of HMS Irresistible and mascot of the Bermuda Maritime Museum at the Keep in dockyard. Other egos brushed aside, the King is probably the most photographed man in Bermuda, ever.King Neptune, Roman god of the ocean seas, arrived in the island appropriately by sea on the prow of one of Her Britannic Majesty Queen Victoria’s ships, a vessel sent out to paradise to wait out its final days as a floating storehouse, office and housing block, for over 30 years.

Originally the Greek god Poseidon, Neptune was extremely virile a man, outdoing any of the present generation of hit-and-run personalities, for he fathered no less that 59 children by 26 women, all goddesses of course<\m>or that is what he told them.

He is perhaps the most enduring of the gods of mythology and statues of the King are to be found in cities as far flung as Lviv in the Ukraine, Paris, Los Angeles and Mexico City, to name but a few where he is the centerpiece of a fountain.

As a ship’s figurehead, King Neptune of the Irresistibl> was one of the last to be carried on a Royal Navy ship.

Metaphorically, “figurehead” today means a person of position out front, but whose power lies with others to the rear, or a person controlled by another, like a Roman czar by a Rasputin. The power of a warship’s figurehead was also found to its rear, in the broadsides of its cannon.

Built at Chatham Dockyard, HMS Irresistibl$>was a 60-gun, third-rate ship-of-the-line, the second of three Royal Navy ships of that name.

Naval actions early in the American Civil War decreed that the ship slid into obsolescence soon after she descended the ways at her launch in 1859. From his encompassing viewpoint on the prow of Irresistib<$> King Neptune saw no battle action and in 1868, he had no choice but to accompany the ship across the wide Atlantic into oblivion at Bermuda.

Not having absolute power, figureheads often survive the demise of the power behind the throne, and this was the case of Neptune of the Irresistible.

The ship was sold out of service in 1891 to Pearman, Watlington & Company and sank under their command a few years later to the south of Marshall’s Island, where her bones and one cannon are still to be found. The gun was one of four 9-inch Rifled Muzzle Loaders of 12 tons, placed in the bowels of the ship as ballast after it became unstable during a storm.

Three of the guns were raised in the 1990s, courtesy of Correia Constructions and can be seen at the Bermuda Maritime Museum, extremely rare Mark I examples of that type of British artillery.

At the time of disposal, the figurehead was taken to the cove below Admiralty House. There it stood proudly, if high but not completely dry, ashore, for 80 years until moved to the fledgling maritime museum in 1974 by Royal Navy helicopter.

By that time, the King, like a heavily decayed tooth, had had many cavities of rotten wood replaced with cement or concrete, the worst of repairs as the cement attracts more damp and creates more rot.

Like many studs, Neptune looked good on the surface, but a little probing indicated that he was rotten, almost to the core.

To preserve his appearance for the delight of future generations, Laurence Tindall translated the wooden King into one of stone in his sculpture studio in England. The remains of the wooden figurehead were given to Chatham Historic Dockyard, to be repaired in wood and kept indoors on exhibit, away from the weather.

The solid new King Neptune, carved out of three blocks of Indiana limestone, was repositioned in the Keep Yard, to look south, so that for most of the day his face would be in sunlight, the best situation for taking photographs of this great man of the ocean.

Nuclear Electric Insurance Limited, whose CEO was then the Bermuda resident, Quentin Jackson, sponsored the new figurehead.

Sporting a bronze trident and a head of almost dreadlock curls and two body-builder arms, the King is daily subjected to the enthusiastic climbing of children, preparatory to having his picture taken yet again.

Now we can say with complete confidence, barring an earthquake: Long Live The Ki

Dr. Edward Harris, MBE, JP, FSA, Bermudian, is the Executive Director of the Bermuda Maritime Museum. Comments can be sent to drharris<$>@logic.bm or by telephone to 79980<$>.