Not everyone in St. George's thinks the 'ghost town' label is completely fair — but most agree the Olde Towne is now being haunted by Bermuda's failure to make the most of its unique heritage.

A huge proportion of the Island's rich 400-year history focuses on the former capital, where shipwrecked settlers first arrived aboard the Sea Venture in 1609. Yet while these days the world heritage centre plays second fiddle to the City of Hamilton, some say St. George's is missing a chance to tell its own story — and make itself a place tourists and locals alike want to visit. When Up Your Street visited St. George's West, Alderman Eugene Minors told The Royal Gazette: "The biggest thing that can happen to St. George's right now would be if the Government of today made a contribution to the value that St. George's has stood for all these years — a world heritage area. And that's something that should be cherished by the whole of Bermuda, not just St. George's."

Another man said: "There's so much history to this town but nobody seems to know what it is. No wonder people don't come here."

Residents certainly seemed to think the dice have been loaded against the East End, whose municipality's very future has been called into question in recent weeks.

Cruise ship visits, gradually decreasing for years, now appear to have disappeared altogether; the golf club has closed along with its job-providing clubhouse; a hotel to replace Club Med remains as much of a pipe dream as ever; and even the ferry service to Hamilton has gone for the winter.

All these have resulted in dwindling numbers of people around the town — about half of which falls in Constituency Two — and led to businesses falling by the wayside.

Some shopkeepers remained positive, with one woman saying: "We have to all, as businesses, not wait for Government to do something. We must do something ourselves."

Exactly what shopkeepers can do to improve matters is another matter entirely, she conceded, but she said a meeting of townsfolk taking place tomorrow can act as a brainstorming session.

One woman going against the flow is Belinda Tartaglia, who is ignoring the doom and gloom merchants and has decided to open an art gallery.

"I've not seen any ghosts," said Ms Tartaglia in response to the 'ghost town' label.

"I don't concern myself what everybody else is doing. I know what I want to do in life and this is one of those things. It will be fun. I think St. George's has great possibility to become great."

Local MP Kim Swan — raised in the West End but a vocal supporter of St. George's since moving there more than 25 years ago — said: "The challenge that we must overcome, and I feel we will overcome, is that we must put in place a strategy that allows this town to sustain itself commercially.

"That will help us provide job opportunities for both residents and people from neighbouring areas who will commute here to work.

"I feel that the one thing that we have to offer that we can build upon is our heritage. There are many stories that relate to St. George's and those stories need to be told in settings that can be structured and organised."

Mr. Swan said well-organised history trails were very successful elsewhere in the world.

"St. George's needs to be a destination itself," he said. "The objective needs to be that every visitor that comes to this Country should not leave without having a reason to come to St. George's."

Other concerns mentioned to this newspaper included dangerous road surfaces on Ferry Reach Road and lack of transport for the elderly from Ferry Reach to the main road.

Turn to Lifestyle for a look at Wellington Hill, the St. George's neighbourhood that produced Miss World 1979.

Next week's Up Your Street features Hamilton East. Residents of that constituency who want to comment should contact

tsmith@royalgazette.bm