Bowraville is steeped in history.

The Gumbaynggirr people have inhabited the Nambucca valley and the surrounding areas for thousands of years. Their descendents can still be found living in the valley

In March 1841 Clement Hodgkinson explored the upper reaches of the Nambucca and Bellinger Rivers. He was the first European to make contact with the local Aboriginal community. The township, originally named Bowra, grew up in the 1850s and 1860s. It was renamed Bowraville in the 1870s because confusion was occurring with the Southern Highlands township of Bowral. The word Bowra comes from the Gumbaynggirr place name Bawrrung.

In the early years of its existence, Bowraville was primarily a timber town. It grew to meet the needs of the local timber cutters and so by the 1870s it boasted two hotels, a number of general stores, a blacksmiths shop, a tailor, local post office, a school and a number of churches. By the 1880s, while timber was still dominant the district was also an important dairy and pig raising area.

Many jobs have been lost in recent years with the decline of the timber industry however agriculture has diversified from the traditional core of dairy farming to include beef cattle. The area has also seen the development of such activities as macadamia farms, avocado growers, agro forestry, bush foods, Alpacas and organic vegetables.

Bowraville boasts a very popular horse racing track that sees an ever increasing interest from the local area as well as from further a field. The race meetings attract large registered betting interest and many who just come for the spectacle of events such as the Bowra Cup.

The town remained relatively static throughout the 20th century but by the 1980s this area of the New South Wales coast was attracting people looking for a better life style. Today this better lifestyle is apparent in venues like the beautifully restored historical theatre in the main street. The town's main street has been carefully recreated (much of it had been destroyed by a series of bush fires) so that it maintains a certain old world charm.