It is located in the Adelaide Hills Council local government area on the south bank of the upper River Torrens.

The original inhabitants of the area were the Peramangk people,[4] and the name "Gumeracha" derives from an Aboriginal word meaning "fine waterhole".

In 1841, The South Australian Company built a home, known as "Ludlow House", for the first manager of the station known as "Timnath", William Beavis Randell.

[6] Commercial businesses sprang up on the main street (Albert Street), and many fine buildings were erected, including the post office, police station and courthouse (1864), Gumeracha Institute, l ibrary and town hall (1909), a butter factory (1889), a school, a hospital, a coach-house, hotels, churches and business houses.

[citation needed] The most notable attraction of Gumeracha is the "biggest rocking horse in the world" – standing at 18.3 metres (60.0 ft) (approximately the height of a six-storey building), it is just east of the town on Main Road and serves to advertise the toy factory and wildlife park.

As of 2010[update] LinkSA operates a coach service from Tea Tree Plaza Interchange at Modbury to Gumeracha and Mount Pleasant.