Croydon was created in the 1998 electoral distribution as a safe
Labor seat, replacing the abolished
Spence. It was first contested at the
2002 state election, when it was won by future
Attorney-General and
Speaker Michael Atkinson, who had been the member for Spence since 1989. The seat is split between the marginal federal seats of
Adelaide and
Hindmarsh and the safe federal Labor seat of
Port Adelaide. Following the
2014 election Croydon became Labor's safest seat, on an 18.9 percent margin. Counting its time as Spence, it has been in Labor hands since its creation in 1970. The 2016 redistribution saw the northern boundary of Croydon district extended northwards from the vicinity of Regency Road to
Grand Junction Road. The southwestern boundary also changed, with
Beverley,
Woodville Park,
Hindmarsh and
Flinders Park being absorbed by the neighbouring districts of
Cheltenham and
West Torrens. In February 2017, Atkinson announced his intention not to re-contest the seat at the
2018 election. Upper house MP
Peter Malinauskas succeeded him at the 2018 election. The 2020 redistribution added
Kilburn and the north-west quarter of
Prospect from neighboring
Enfield. The parts of Allenby Gardens, Welland and West Hindmarsh were removed from and added to the electorate of West Torrens. ==Members for Croydon==