It all started with just some men and buckets of water, but 150 years later the Cromwell Volunteer Fire Brigade is still going strong.

And on Monday night the brigade decided to recognise this milestone, by holding its monthly meeting at exactly 8pm on September 2 - the same day and time as it first met back in 1874.

The Mayor of Cromwell at the time David Anderson Jolly held a public meeting at the town hall to form the brigade after reading about “disasters” in Dunedin where businesses had lost property through a series of fires.

Cromwell Volunteer Fire Brigade members will soon be celebrating the station's 150th anniversary. PHOTO: Lisa Hill

Mr T. Fergus thought the idea of a fire brigade a praiseworthy one, and moved the mayor’s motion that a brigade be formed at once, and instantly 22 names were signed up.

“An organisation of men, even with buckets, could do much towards extinguishing a fire,” he said at the meeting, which was reported in the Cromwell Argus at the time.

Cromwell Volunteer Fire Brigade chief fire officer Neil Gillespie said preparations were also underway to celebrate the 150th anniversary between October 11 and 13, which 120 people had registered to attend.

The event will start with a gathering of past and present members on the Friday night, followed by an open day for the public to attend on the Saturday, with formal proceedings following on that night, including its annual honours by Fire and Emergency New Zealand.