[1] The division was created in 1984 and is named after Ruth Fairfax, founder of the Country Women's Association.

It is located in the Sunshine Coast region north of Brisbane and includes the towns of Coolum, Yaroomba, Marcoola, Mudjimba, Maroochydore, Buderim, Woombye, Bli Bli, Yandina, Nambour, Mapleton, Kenilworth and Eumundi.

[citation needed] The electorate came to national attention at the 2013 federal election, when Clive Palmer, the founder of the Palmer United Party, narrowly won it by 53 votes.

[citation needed] Palmer did not run for re-election, and it was widely expected that the seat would revert to the merged Liberal National Party because, in 2013, LNP would have retained it easily in a "traditional" two-party-preferred vote contest with Labor.

[citation needed] As expected, Palmer's 2013 opponent, Ted O'Brien, won the seat resoundingly at the 2016 federal election and has held it without serious difficulty since.