The Rockhampton and District Historical Society was established in 1948, making it the second oldest historical society in Queensland, after the Royal Queensland Historical Society.

The RDHS was founded in order to preserve the history of the Rockhampton district, through collecting photographs, manuscripts, books and museum items, as well as encouraging members of the Society to research and write on issues of historical interest in the local area.

For the first few years of its existence the Society's collection was housed in a room on the upper floors of Harris's Department store in East Street, Rockhampton. However, this early collection was entirely destroyed when Harris's burnt down in 1954. Thereafter, the Society was without a permanent home, with items of the collection being stored and not easily accessible to the public. Papers and manuscripts were housed at the Rockhampton Municipal Library. Meetings of the Society were held at both the main Municipal Library, and the North Rockhampton Municipal Library.

In 1985 the City of Rockhampton restored the North Rockhampton Borough Chambers in Stapleton Park, North Rockhampton. The Borough Chambers, built in 1885, was the original administrative building for the borough of North Rockhampton, which was subsumed into the City of Rockhampton in 1919. By 1985, the Borough Chambers had been used for a variety of purposes, including as a Sea Scouts and was in a very run-down condition.

After restoration, the Rockhampton City Council offered the building to the RDHS as their Society headquarters and museum.

A history of the Society Delving into the Past : the jubilee history of Rockhampton & District Historical Society 1948-1998 by former President Lorna McDonald, was published in 1998.

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