The area around Jeparit is originally home to the Gromiluk Aboriginal peoples prior to European settlement. The name Jeparit is believed to be derived from a Gromiluk word meaning "home of small birds". European settlement began in the 1880s when German Lutheran immigrants began to settle and grow wheat.
The town was surveyed in 1883 and gazetted in 1889, the post office opening on 31 August 1889 [3] though known as Lake Hindmarsh until December 1889. Two earlier post offices called Lake Hindmarsh had existed in the area at various times since 1861 to serve a smaller population of graziers.[4]
Jeparit's most famous son is former Australian Prime Minister and founder of the Liberal Party, Sir Robert Menzies, who was born in the town in 1894. He is commemorated with a spire and a memorial bust installed at the town square. The spire, topped with an ornament resembling a Scottish Thistle, is inscribed:
This spire has been erected by the people of Jeparit and district, to honour Sir Robert Menzies. The spire symbolises the rise to world recognition of a boy who was born in Jeparit and who rose by his own efforts to become Australia's Prime Minister and a statesman recognised and honoured throughout the world.
