The origin of the suburb name is derived from "The Basin", an enlarged natural widening used by river steamers to turn before or after berthing at Ipswich, to which the suburb is adjacent. The explorer
Allan Cunningham noted the Basin in 1828, and the Rev. Dr
John Dunmore Lang suggested that Basin Pocket or
Booval might have been a better site for the main settlement. A ferry service between Basin Pocket and
North Ipswich was established by William Isaac Lawrence sometime after his family settled there in the 1860s. (This service does not exist today). On 15 March 1887, there was a ceremony to
turn the first sod for a Primitive Methodist church. Basin Pocket Primitive Methodist Church opened on Sunday 8 December 1867. Services had been held in a rented house for about year prior to the opening of the church. On Tuesday 19 December 1867 (the public holiday for
Separation Day), a tea meeting was held for 200 people to celebrate the opening of the church. St John's Anglican Church was opened on 3 September 1921 by Canon T. L. H. Jenkyn, the rector of
St Paul's Anglican Church in Ipswich. It was dedicated on 11 September 1921 by
Archbishop Gerald Sharp. Its closure circa 2018 was approved by Bishop
Cameron Venables. The church was at 82 Blackall Street (). St Philomene's Catholic Church was dedicated on 2 June 1940 by
Archbishop James Duhig. == Demographics ==