Southern River was first contested at the
1996 state election. The seat was won by
Liberal Party candidate
Monica Holmes who defeated
Labor candidate
Judyth Watson, the latter being at the time member for the abolished
Kenwick. Holmes was defeated at the
2001 state election by Labor candidate
Paul Andrews. The redistribution ahead of the
2005 state election shifted Southern River eastward, making the seat safer for the Labor Party. That election saw Paul Andrews defeat Monica Holmes a second time, with a much wider margin in large part due to the redistribution changes. The next redistribution saw much of the previous changes reversed, making Southern River once again a marginal seat. With Labor's hold on the seat now much more tenuous, Andrews was defeated at the
2008 state election by Liberal candidate
Peter Abetz. Abetz held the seat through the
2013 state election but lost to Labor's
Terry Healy at the
2017 state election. ==Members for Southern River==