European explorers John Oxley and Allan Cunningham visited the river in 1824 and it was first named by Oxley as Bremer's Creek presumably after Captain Gordon Bremer who was in charge of HMS Tamar, at that time performing duties in the waters of the colony of New South Wales.

[1] The Bremer rises in the hills of the Scenic Rim, passes close to the town of Rosewood and winds through the city of Ipswich.

[5] The Bremer River was known as The Urarrar meaning Red Stemmed Gum Trees in Yugararpul language according to The Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld,: 1866-1939), Thursday 18 January 1934, page 13.

[6]: 9  On their return journey six days later the exploration party camped on the opposite side of the river where the tributary entered the main stream.

[6]: 11 The first steam vessel on the river was the Experiment on 18 June 1846 after spending the night stranded on a mud band at Goodna.

Before the railway line from Ipswich to Brisbane was completed in 1875, the river served as an important navigation route between the two towns.

[6]: 95 The slow-flowing river system is known to flood and is considered to be heavily polluted, suffering from poor water quality.

Testing revealed the worst pollution came from woollen mills and meatworks at Dinmore, where organic waste entered the river untreated.

[10] In 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 the Healthy Waterways annual assessment of water quality rated the Bremer River an F, the lowest grading possible.

[18] Heavy metals including mercury, chromium, nickel and cadmium were found in Warrill Creek, a tributary of the Bremer, in 2009.

[22] The dam provides potable water for towns such as Boonah and is an irrigation source for crop farmers and those grazing cattle.