Bonshaw was named for a sheep run which John Winter purchased from George Russell and Henry Anderson, who was part of the party which first sighted the future area of Ballarat, in the 1840s. Although Anderson named it Waverley Park, Winter renamed it Bonshaw after the estate of his father-in-law.[4][5][6]
In 2012, the city council named a watercourse in Bonshaw and Delacombe Banyule Creek.[7] In mid-2022, an application for another housing development in Bonshaw was submitted to the council.[8] On 1 November 2023, parts of Bonshaw was incorporated into the Wendouree district.[9] Bonshaw is one of four precincts in the Ballarat West Growth Area,[10] and the companies Jellis Craig and Florian Living are currently developing their own real estate projects in the locality.[11][12]