The town owes its existence to its strategic location about halfway between Brisbane and Rockhampton.

[5] The town name Gin Gin may have derived from a local Aboriginal word, possibly from the Kabi "kwin kwin", or "chin chin" (a scrub), or "gwin gwin" (red soil).

[2][3] European settlement of the region began in 1848 when Gregory Blaxland Jnr (son of the explorer Gregory Blaxland) together with William Forster brought their flocks of sheep up from their squatting leases on the Clarence River.

[6] The local Aboriginal people murdered Blaxland in August 1850 and two shepherd boys the year previously.

[7] Two large massacres of Aboriginal people were conducted by local squatters and their stockmen as punitive measures to these deaths.

[9] The run was later purchased by Sir Thomas McIlwraith, who was Premier of Queensland three times between 1879 and 1893.

McPherson, who went by the same nickname, was captured at Monduran Station, 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) north of town.

In recent years small cropping has taken off across farms in the district, with varied success.

[citation needed] The Bundaberg Regional Council operates a public library at 4 Dear Street.

[39] The Wild Scotsman Markets are held next to the historical Grounds each Saturday morning.