The locality is in the Shire of West Wimmera 25 kilometres (25,000 m) from the South Australian border, about halfway between Melbourne and Adelaide.

Farming is the main industry in Minimay and includes sheep and cattle breeding and arable crops.

Center pivot irrigation is used to water crops and give satellite images of the area a characteristic patchwork pattern of green circles.

Before agriculture, the area was quite wooded; at the time trees were cleared, agriculture in Australia was not advanced and initial attempts to grow crops required much manual labour, and Minimay consequently had a higher population.

Border Districts Football Netball Club was originally a combined team with Minimay and Frances and today also includes Goroke.

Records are poor but, an old minute book suggests that the club was formed before 1896.

The poet John Shaw Neilson grew up in Minimay in the 1880s.

For the opening of the Minimay Memorial Hall the community had a ball.

Mr. Carracher from the general store in Frances decided to build a new one in Minimay in 1901.

Work commenced to construct a telephone line, connecting Minimay to Goroke, in 1908.