The town takes its name from the Imbil pastoral run which was named 1857 by the pastoralists Clement Francis Lawless and Paul Lawless. Imbil is a Kabi word referring to the bamboo vine, and is also used to refer to a lagoon below the Imbil station house.
The town was established in 1868 at the start of the gold rush in the area.
In 1887, 21,760 acres (8,810 ha) of land were resumed from the Imbil pastoral run. The land was offered for selection for the establishment of small farms on 17 April 1887.
The first Imbil post office opened on 9 July 1870 and closed in 1872. The second office opened in 1877 and closed in 1907. The third office opened by 1919.
Imbil Provisional School opened on 19 July 1897. Due to fluctuating student numbers, it closed and reopened a number of times before closing in 1911. In 1915 it reopened as Imbil State School. On 30 January 1962 a secondary school section was added. On 30 November 2002 it was renamed Mary Valley State College.
In 1955 St Columba's Presbyterian Church was opened on the corner of Myers Street and Yabba Road (approx 26°27′36″S152°40′26″E / 26.4599°S 152.6738°E / -26.4599; 152.6738 (St Columba's Presbyterian Church (former))). In 1976 in the lead-up to the amalgamation of the Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregational Churches into the Uniting Church in Australia in 1977, the Presbyterian church building was relocated to be adjacent to the Methodist Church building in Elizabeth Street and is now the Imbil Uniting Church, while the former Methodist Church building is now used as the church hall.
The town is the home of the Mary Valley Stags Rugby League Club.
Events
Imbil is home to the annual Mary Valley Art Festival. The festival began in 2000. Viewing of entrants artwork is conducted at the Imbil public hall.
The town is also home to the motor rally event, the International Rally of Queensland, a long running event on the Queensland and Australian Rally Championships. It was recently promoted to international standing as a round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship. Stages are held in surrounding forests and the show grounds are converted into the garage facilities for approximately 70 race cars over the course of the three-day event. It is now the longest running national level rally event in the country.
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^"Church News". The Telegraph. No. 16, 063. Queensland, Australia. 24 May 1924. p. 3 (SECOND EDITION). Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^"IMBIL'S NEW CHURCH". The Brisbane Courier. No. 20, 701. Queensland, Australia. 29 May 1924. p. 11. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^Anglican Church of Southern Queensland. "Closed Churches". Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
^Blake, Thom. "Christ Church". Queensland religious places database. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
^"IMBIL MEMORIAL". The Brisbane Courier. No. 21, 468. Queensland, Australia. 15 November 1926. p. 19. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Imbil Library". Public Libraries Connect. State Library of Queensland. 27 April 2017. Archived from the original on 24 January 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018.