Its name, derived from Barrukungga in the local Peramangk[3] or Kaurna language, means "place of fire stone"[4] or the "place of hidden fire", and is associated with the creator ancestor of the Kaurna people, Tjilbruke.

While Brukunga is on Peramangk traditional land, the word Barrukungga has both Kaurna and Ngarrindjeri language elements.

[6] Between 1955 and 31 May 1972, iron sulphides (mainly as pyrite) was mined at the Nairne Pyrite Mine—later renamed as the Brukunga Mine—immediately west of the town, and transported to Port Adelaide for the production of sulphuric acid, used for manufacturing superphosphate fertiliser.

[7] Oxidation of pyrite in waste dumps and the exposed quarry face led to formation of acid mine drainage containing high levels of cadmium and other heavy metals into the adjacent creek, triggering health warnings by the Environment Protection Agency in 1998.

[2] The town is the location of the Country Fire Service training centre and the Claremont Airbase which has been the main operating base for aerial firefighting since 2016.