Wirrabara was formed by the White brothers, Samuel and Frederick in the 1840s. Previously they had held land on Eyre Peninsula near Port Lincoln but the distance from market and the difficulty in obtaining supplies induced them to move and they overlanded their flock of about 1200 sheep and 70 cattle and took up land in the area now known as Wirrabara along the Rocky River. They prospered here and eventually switched to raising cattle rather than sheep, as noted by the pastoralist and explorer John Horrocks who recorded in 1846 that the White brothers were running 11,000 head of cattle. Fred Hayward was also a frequent visitor to the Whites' property. Subsequent owners included C B Fisher, his brother D W Fisher and George Tinline. Alexander Murray owned the Wirrabara run from 1881.

The Wirrabara State Forest was established in 1875 on part of the land.

It is not known in what capacity T. Thomas worked at Wirrabara.