The name of the town originated from a rock formation that is situated close to the town, that was named by a sandalwood cutter. The townsite was gazetted in 1932.[2]
A short-lived newspaper in the 1930s included the name of the town in its title.[3]
The Russian adventurer Fyodor Konyukhov broke the record for the fastest circumnavigation of the Earth in a hot air balloon in just over 11 days, landing safely near Bonnie Rock at about 4.30pm (local time) on 23 July 2016.[5]