Rosevale is a rural village 40 km south-west of Ipswich and 25 km north-west of Boonah. It is on the Boyd Creek, a headwater tributary of the Bremer River, and was named after the Rossvale pastoral run taken up by William Ross in the 1850s.
Situated in a relatively remote valley in the foothills of the scenic rim, Rosevale was nevertheless settled for farm purposes at an early date. Its primary school was opened in 1884, and the post office directory for 1892 recorded over 50 farmers, a Church of England, a Catholic Church and visiting ministers for Wesleyan and Lutheran services. The hotel (1887), formerly a homestead dating from the 1850s, continues today as the Rosevale Retreat Hotel.
The river valley was grazed by dairy herds, and the 1902 directory recorded the Rosevale co-op, Creamery and the Rosevale cheese factory. The factory was later run by the Queensland Farmers Co-operative. Farming continued undiminished into the early post World War II years.
Beef cattle herds replaced dairy herds and there is some rural/residential living around Rosevale. As well as the hotel, the school continues as a one-teacher facility. Rosevale's census populations have been:
| Census Date | Population |
|---|---|
| 1911 | 329 |
| 1933 | 250 |
| 2006 | 539 |
| 2011 | 268 |
