They discuss building a bridge across the lagoon at the end of Templar Street, at a cost of 600 pounds, and paying the very first shire clerk 40 pounds per annum.

The cost of building bridges has certainly changed, and so have many other aspects of life in the 150 + 1 years since, and there were plenty of people and milestones to celebrate when locals and dignitaries gathered to mark the Forbes Shire Council sesquicentenary on Saturday night.

Photographs from across the decades were on display, and speakers lauded past achievements as well as work being done now to prepare for the future.

Mayor Phyllis Miller OAM said she had seen great changes in her 26 years in local government in Forbes, notably the increase in women on council.

The new Central West Livestock Exchange, the development of the former saleyards site into a retail hub, medical facilities including Forbes Medical Centre and Yoorana Gunya were just some of the high points - and the Mayor paid tribute to colleagues and mentors past and present.

Former mayor Alister Lockhart, who served 22 years on the council and seven as mayor, also took the stage and reflected on the highs and lows of his time in office in the 1990s and 2000s.

Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack congratulated the council for its work "at the coalface" of community expectation.

He said the community had shown its resilience through drought, floods and COVID-19.

"If you look at the historic photos tonight, you will see people who have turned up in the past to support and uplift this community," he said. "In the future we will have people who put their hand up for public office and those people who do deserve a lot of credit, because it's not easy."

Upper House MP Sam Farraway paid tribute to Forbes Shire Council as a proactive organisation, highlighting the development of the Homemakers Centre, the Edward Street subdivision and the Ninja Park as ways the council has sought to develop as financially viable and an attractive place to live.

Council general manager Steve Loane, appointed three-and-a-half years ago, credited those who created a solid platform for future growth.

"This is a beautiful town, beautifully presented, and with a lot of civic pride," he said, adding the Farm to Trade work program through the drought to recent highlights.