Station Focus: Bowral Fire Brigade 1893-2025

The history of Bowral Fire Brigade, its formation and growth, reflect the grit and resilience that has long defined country towns and those who reside in them.

As early as 1886, residents of Bowral began expressing their concern over the lack of a fire brigade in town. They feared that the town was ill-prepared for a large fire, especially since they had no reticulated water supply and relied solely on wells and tanks. This fear came to fruition when a disastrous fire swept through Bowral on 17 January 1890. The fire spread rapidly through several businesses on Bong Bong Street and in less than an hour, the buildings were levelled to the ground. This reignited the conversation in town about establishing a local fire brigade, and even though there was still no adequate water supply, they believed that having a small group of well-trained firefighters with buckets, would be better than nothing.

Bowral Fire Station, early 1930s [Museum of Fire Collection]

After consulting various avenues of funding to form a fire brigade, the Bowral Municipal Council was allocated a grant of £500 (approximately $93,830 today) from the State Government in 1893 for this purpose. Thanks to this funding, the Bowral Volunteer Fire Brigade was officially formed on 21 June 1893, with approximately 20 people signing up to join. To equip the brigade, a fire appliance was purchased from T. J. Bown & Co. – a company founded by Thomas Bown, who was the Superintendent of the Insurance Companies Brigade in Sydney - and land was set aside on Merrigang Street to construct a fire station. Local architect, Mr. Vennard, offered his services free of charge to design the new station, citing it would be “a thing of beauty.” By February 1894, the fire station was complete, and the new fire engine had arrived, ready to be used in its duties.

While most country brigades operated under the local council, in February 1894, Bowral was one of the few brigades outside of metropolitan Sydney to be brought under the Fire Brigades Act of 1884 and was governed by the Bowral Fire Brigade Board. This continued until 1910, when the Fire Brigades Act was officially extended across the entire state, bringing Bowral Fire Brigade under the authority of the Board of Fire Commissioners of NSW (BoFC) – the governing body of the newly created NSW Fire Brigades.

Bowral Fire Station in the snow, July 2015 [Courtesy of Bowral Fire Brigade]

Bowral Fire Brigade continued to operate out of their small wooden fire station until it could no longer meet their requirements for proper drills and training. While small expansions occurred to fulfill this purpose, finally in 1924 land was purchased right next door, for the construction of a brand-new fire station. Tenders were invited in April 1925, with Messrs. Lowther and Horrocks from Hurstville being contracted to carry out the work. Construction began shortly after, and on 14 November 1925 the Bowral Fire Brigade moved into their new fire station. A week later, an officially opening ceremony was held on 20 November 1925.

Today, Bowral Fire Brigade continue to be a beacon of hope for the community. They made history in 1996 when Jodie Macleod became the first woman to be appointed as a firefighter in the district. They also took home the title of ‘Most Engaging Crew’ in 2012 and 2013 for conducting the most community engagement activities – 2087 in total.

Historic Fleet List 

Year	Make/Model	Motor Engine Number	Type
1894	Shand Mason	-	Manual Pump
1909	Green & Co.	079	Hose Reel
1925	Dodge 6	036	Motor Hose Car
1929	Dennis 250	163	Pumper
1939	Dennis 250	187	Pumper
1942	Garford 75	115	Pumper
1946	Dennis 250	187	Pumper
1947	Dennis Ace	246	Pumper
1963	Bedford J1	059	Pumper
1970	Ford D400	267	Pumper
1981	Dennis D600 Mk 2	446	Pumper
1982	International 1710B	577	Pumper
1982	International 1710C	666	Pumper
1983	Dennis D600 Mk 2	450	Pumper
1994	Dennis D600 Mk 1	396	Pumper
1996	Isuzu FRS	768	Composite Pumper
2002	Isuzu FTR-800	413	Pumper
2010	Isuzu FTS-800	707	Pumper
2016	Mercedes Atego 1626	165	Hazmat Tanker
2016	Mercedes Atego 1629	420	Pumper

Captain’s List

Name	Appointment as Captain	End of Service as Captain
R. Bissaker	1894	1897
M. Jones	1898	1906
J. Huggett	1906	1923
G. Hendrie	1923	1947
L. Burrows	1947	1948
F. Cupitt	1948	1952
J. Owers	1953	1975
J. Miller	1975	1991
G. Thomas	1991	1993
J. Brennan	1993	1996
C. Lenholm	1996	1998
S. McIntosh	1998	2008
J. Arnot	2008	2020
C. Cruz	2020	2023
R. Van Der Meer	2023	Present

Station Officer’s List

Name	Appointment as S/O	End of Service as S/O
A. Barrell	2000	2004
K. Britt	2004	2010
D. Lesslie	2010	2012

Want to learn more about the history of Bowral Fire Brigade? You can purchase a copy of the Bowral station book either in-store or online by visiting www.museumoffire.net/product-page/station-books

- Story by Museum of Fire Heritage Team