[1] Situated on corner of the Bruce Highway and Boundary Road in the suburb of Parkhurst, it was officially opened by Rockhampton City Council mayor Jim MacRae and Federal Member for Capricornia Paul Marek on 8 May 1998.

[1] The attraction is mainly run by volunteers from the organisation Friends of the Heritage Village, but a small number of paid Rockhampton Regional Council employees also work on site.

[3] The Rockhampton Heritage Village originated from a privately owned collection of memorabilia which had been displayed at what was known as the Gangalook Museum near The Caves, approximately 15 kilometres north of the present site.

[6][7][8] The venue also hosted the city's annual Carols by Candlelight event in 2012 during the temporary closure of the Rockhampton Music Bowl.

[9] Following the 2013 floods in Central Queensland associated with ex-Tropical Cyclone Oswald, a free concert was held for the local community at the Rockhampton Heritage Village featuring performers such as Ella Hooper and Beccy Cole.

[10][11] In 2016, the venue was used as a filming location for We Were Tomorrow, an Australian science fiction program starring Gyton Grantley and Johnny Brady.

[12][13] A new showroom to store and display the Rockhampton Heritage Village's collection of historic vehicles including vintage cars, motorbikes and fire engines was opened in 2017.

[15] However, in 2020 a local media commentator questioned whether the Rockhampton Heritage Village was a financial burden for the council and suggested ways on how to attract more visitors throughout the year to help cover costs.

[16] This included proposing the attraction become 100% carbon neutral, recycling its waste, growing organic fruit and vegetables on site, hosting market stalls that only sell environmentally-friendly goods and renewing a working relationship with the nearby Dreamtime Cultural Centre.

It was unveiled by Jim Pearce on 17 May 1997 in recognition of the dedication of Queenslanders' contribution to the Australian country music industry.