[4] New Farm is partly surrounded by the Brisbane River, with land access from the north-west through Fortitude Valley and from the north through Newstead.

[citation needed] The suburb has one main commercial area close to New Farm Park, called 'Merthyr Village'.

The former electric tramway power station, located at the eastern corner of New Farm Park, has been converted into a community arts and performance space called 'The Powerhouse'.

[12] Commandant Patrick Logan established a new farm in the area in 1827 as part of the Moreton Bay penal colony.

[13] The area was also a working site of convicts (lime kilns dating back to 1870 are still evident on the river banks).

A map advertising the auction indicated that the lots and cottages were located between St Clair House and Heal Street.

[23] There was a marine base established in World War II and the suburb was home to many wealthy merchants and lawyers.

[16] New Farm developed a reputation in the late 1980s for street prostitution[24] and as a drug-addled, low-rent culture depicted in Andrew McGahan's grunge novel Praise, which is set largely in the suburb.

However, New Farm maintains its diversity, being known for its long-established Anglo-Saxon and Italian communities (as depicted in Venero Armanno's novel Firehead), and its many restaurants and cafes.

[26] On 23 January 2007, part of the movie Fool's Gold, starring Kate Hudson, was shot at New Farm Park.

[27] This meant New Farm had the highest population density in Greater Brisbane at the time with approximately 5,861.7 people per square kilometre.

At the river end of Brunswick Street a small cross-river ferry, operated by Brisbane Transport used to link New Farm with Norman Park.