Prior to white colonisation, the Gamilaraay Nation (commonly known as Kamilaroi) of Aboriginal peoples lived in and occupied this region. In 1848, Alexander Campbell held the Inverell Station on the Macintyre River. The name derives from the name of Mr. MacIntyre's estate. The word is of Gaelic origin, and signifies "meeting place of the swans"; from "Inver", a meeting place, and "Ell", a swan.
