[1] The main village is administered by Kyogle Council, while the section of Tabulam west of the Clarence River is part of Tenterfield Shire.

British colonisation of the land first occurred in 1840 when pastoral squatters Peter Cunningham Pagan and his brother-in-law William Tucker Evans chose the site for a sheep station.

[10] The killing of this well-known pastoralist prompted a lengthy series of reprisals against the local Bundjalung clans led by Henry Oakes, the regional crown lands commissioner.

With his Border Police troopers and several armed volunteers including local squatters Edward Ogilvie and John Mylne, Oakes set out on a three-stage punitive expedition which resulted in the killing of at least 15 Bundjalung people and the destruction of five Aboriginal camp-sites.

[11] Conflict in the upper reaches of the Clarence River continued up until at least the late 1860s; but around Tabulam was not an issue of serious consequence after the arrival of the Chauvels in 1848.

[12] During World War II, tank traps were built in the area near Paddys Flat, to repel a potential armoured attack.

The Tabulam Races are held at the local racetrack, located approximately 1 km south of the township, on the bank of the Clarence River.

A local company offers weekend or single day river adventures, with guides and the opportunity to spot a platypus or wedge-tailed eagle.