[1] The division was created in 1948 and is named after the McPherson Range, which forms one of the divisional boundaries.

McPherson is located in south-east Queensland, and originally included the entire Gold Coast region, stretching as far as the Scenic Rim and Southern Downs.

However, the area's dramatic population growth has seen the seat shrink with successive redistributions, culminating in 1983, when most of its northern portion became Moncrieff.

McPherson now incorporates the southern portion of the Gold Coast, including Coolangatta, Burleigh Heads, Tugun and Palm Beach.

Indeed, most of the area has been represented by centre-right MPs without interruption since 1906; before 1949, most of the Gold Coast was part of Moreton.