The first European settlers arrived in the area in the 1860s and the first documented European birth was Henry Bateman in 1866. Bateman descendants still live in the town today. The town was at first called "Jindowie", from the local Aboriginal word for a waterhole. Later, a man called John or Jack Dowiae established a camp and rest area for travellers called the John Dowiae camp. This led to some early settlers using the name Jondowiae. With the coming of the railway in 1914, the name was changed again to Jandowae, to avoid confusion with nearby Jondaryan.