It is on the Sturt Highway A20, 220 kilometres north-east of Adelaide, the capital of the state of South Australia.

[2] It is not known where the name "Barmera" comes from but it is suspected that it means "water place" or "land dwellers", being a word from the local Aboriginal group.

Others postulate it comes from Barmeedjie, the name of the tribe that lived to the north of the Murray River prior to European settlement.

A police station was also built to prevent and stop arguments between the aboriginal people and settlers.

An influx of World War I veterans settled with promises of irrigated land from the government.

Barmera is in the Berri Barmera Council local government area, the South Australian House of Assembly electoral district of Chaffey and the Australian House of Representatives Division of Barker.