[1][3] Following the founding of the Moreton Bay convict settlement on the Brisbane River, the land on which the park now stands was initially a farm.

The Queensland Governor Hamilton Goold-Adams conducted the official opening of the park, which was delayed until July 1919 because of World War I.

In 1827 Captain Patrick Logan ordered the clearing of a new farm between the present day Merthyr Road and the river; drainage canals were dug, and convict labourers grew maize, potatoes, pumpkin, and corn.

[1] In 1846 the Moreton Bay Jockey Club moved its annual race from Coopers Plains to land at New Farm owned by Thomas Adams.

By 1912, about 37 acres (15 ha) 1 rood 8 perches (1,200 m2) of the Old Racecourse Estate remained unsold, the land lying to the south west of the small creek that entered the river at Norris Point.

386 feet (118 m) of earthenware pipes had been laid to drain the lower lagoon into an offset from the river, and 500 holes for trees, plants, shrubs, had been prepared.

Built in the Federation Queen Anne style, of timber with a Marseilles terracotta-tiled, bell-cast hip roof, the kiosk included accommodation for a lessee.

Other facilities included a croquet lawn, picnic areas, cricket wickets, tennis courts and football grounds.

[1] In 1916 two concrete cricket wickets and 2 football grounds were completed at the north-western side of New Farm Park, and a croquet site was selected in the northeast.

At the opening of 20 July 1919, conducted by Governor Gould-Adams, Mayor Charles Buchanan noted that the park had been created because the city was deficient in "lungs".

The Howitzer was mounted in the south-western corner of the park, between the concrete steps and the powerhouse, until its removal to the Crosby nursery in 1955 due to the deterioration of its wheels.

When the Brisbane Tramway Powerhouse (decommissioned in 1971) was built in 1927–1928 straddling the site of the creek, it occupied some undeveloped parkland, and the present boundary of New Farm Park was thus set by 1927.

[1] In 1935 the main drive was sealed with bitumen to reduce the dust problem, but a shelter for a visitor's book that was proposed the same year did not eventuate.

In 1938 it was decided to create a proper cricket oval, with land filling to the level of Sydney Street, although this would only contain one football field.

In 1940 it was proposed to remove the bougainvillea hedge (visible in a 1937 aerial photo) from around the rose gardens, and to plant more jacarandas around the drive.

A memorial drinking fountain honouring Mrs Henry Robertson, founder of Junior Red Cross, was built in 1948.

A report by the Queensland Conservation Council released that year claimed that Brisbane's parks were, in general, often flat, lacking in trees and natural water features, and had too much emphasis on built-recreation facilities.

[1] In 1969 a new sports clubhouse was built, and in 1979 a clock tower and time capsule, for Rotary International's 75th anniversary, was installed near the Oxlade Drive vehicle entrance.

[1] Since a 1991 concept plan was developed for the park, jacarandas have been planted around the oval, a rainforest walk and a half basketball court has been established behind the library, and more picnic tables and barbeques have been added near the river.

The 5.9" memorial gun, the Albatross aircraft and its shelter, and a caretaker's cottage that once stood on the north-east boundary, north-west of the gardeners' depot, have also departed.

The part of the surviving rose gardens that most closely resembles Oakman's original design is the large spiral near the bandstand.

In 2000, a four-month trial by the Brisbane City Council of an Aboriginal homeless shelter near the playground was ended by the Queensland Government.

Active use ranges from sports use, such as soccer, football, croquet, tennis, basketball and boules, to social events and festivals, playground use, weddings, and cycling and jogging.

More passive uses include picnics, strolls through the gardens, listening to brass bands every second Sunday, and tourists visiting to witness the jacarandas bloom.

[1] The basic Edwardian layout of the park, designed by Henry Moore, remains largely intact today, along with remnants from the late 1940s/early 1950s garden redesign undertaken by Harry Oakman.

The central lawn within the jacaranda drive contains the remnants of the post-1948 rose garden arrangements, and an area of rainforest has been planted behind the library.

[1] Post World War II features of interest include the remnants of Oakman's rose gardens design, the rectangular, hip-roofed masonry croquet clubhouse, and the post-war shed with tiled roof, which lies to the south of the kiosk site.

The Brisbane City Council's purchase of the land at New Farm reflected its interest in the international Town Planning movement of the time.

The playground is very popular with local mothers and children, and festival organisers, wedding parties, sportspeople, the elderly, and picnickers use other parts of the park.

New Farm Park also has an association with the life and work of people of importance: Henry Moore, Harry Oakman, and Albert Herbert Foster, Brisbane's City Architect from 1913 to 1932.