[3] The Ngarabal name of the township of Glen Innes is Gindaaydjin, meaning "plenty of big round stones on clear plains".

Many Ngarabal people continue to live in the Glen Innes area, still practising many aspects of their traditional culture and way of life.

In 1875, the population had swelled to about 1,500 and the town had a two-teacher school, three churches, five hotels, two weekly newspapers, seven stores and a variety of societies and associations.

Notable individual businesses include a photographic processing facility, an exporter of waste material balers, a large cattle feedlot, and transport depots.

It is the longest continuously running arts council [citation needed] in Australia, housed in their venue, The Chapel Theatre.

The town's team, the Glen Innes Magpies, play in the Group 19 Rugby League A-Grade competition.

However due to non interest and a lack of numbers to make a team, the Glen Innes Magpies had to withdraw from the group 19 competition in 2022.

Glen Innes has annual competitions and representative teams in the following: Golf, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Soccer, Lawn Bowls, Tennis, Netball, Basketball, Cricket, Squash, Touch Football, Tent Pegging, Campdrafting, Shooting, Sheepdog trials, Roller Skating and Roller Hockey.

Glen Innes was the birthplace of writer D'Arcy Niland, High Court judge Edward McTiernan and architects Colin Madigan and Nancy Allen.

Notable Former Residents: Bishop Thomas Absolem McCabe [de], the first bishop of Wollongong whose grave is in St Francis Xavier Cathedral grounds, Wollongong, Margaret Fulton, Australia's first and most famous real-food cookbook author and Garry McDonald of "Norman Gunston" and "Mother and Son" fame.

These include two Olympians (Debbie Wells and David Cooper), Rugby League players Reg O'Keefe and John Ferguson, pistol shooters Bruce Favell and Robert Landers, masters athletics world champion Neville McIntyre and Andrew McIntyre (Tentpegging).

Another major contributor to the wars from Glen Innes was Edward (Ted) Kinsella who was a soldier and army official who was stationed in Greece, Gallipoli and France.

Archibald Clunes Innes, from Thrumster, Caithness was a captain in the Third Regiment (Buffs), when he arrived in Australia in 1822 on the Eliza in charge of 170 convicts.

The Australian Standing Stones are based on the Ring of Brodgar in Orkney (a non-Gaelic speaking area) or Calanais in Lewis.