[9] Prior to the establishment of the South Australian colony, whalers based on Kangaroo Island were known to have called at Rapid Bay though it was not so named until 1836.

", were carved into a large boulder – a replica is visible in the township, while the original is stored in the South Australian Museum, in Adelaide.

[14] Rapid Bay was briefly considered by Light as a potential site for the new colony's capital,[15] but with the discovery of the Adelaide Plains it faded into quiet obscurity.

[16] The BHP constructed the town, an ore-loading jetty and a high voltage power line from Willunga during the period 1938 to 1942 as part of the works undertaken to establish a limestone quarry.

During the construction of the jetty, a worker named John Gamlin went missing and was presumed to have fallen from a platform that lacked rails and drowned.

[15] In 1948, production averaged 30,000 tonnes per month with a fully mechanised process from electric shovel to crushers, then by conveyor to ship.

[16] BHP's assets, including a crushing plant, jetty and loading wharf, were eventually sold to Adelaide Brighton Cement in 1981.

[20] The quarry and remaining buildings are located within tenements PM11 and PM12 which as of 2021 are held by Adelaide Brighton Cement and Croser Bros.

The history of the township during the BHP years was recorded by Des Lord in the 2018 book Rapid Bay... Before we forget.

Wheat and lead were exported from Second Valley during the 1860s owing to the lack of a suitable road to bring those cargoes to the waterfront at Rapid Bay.

[citation needed] The first Rapid Bay jetty's landward end was some 50 yards distant from the later BHP construction.

The jetty features concrete decking, is artificially lit after dark and is a popular spot for recreational fishing.