The Division was proclaimed at the redistribution of 13 September 1922, and was first contested at the 1922 federal election.
[2] The word "Warrin ga" was recorded as the local name for Middle Harbour in 1832.
[3] Centred on Mosman and the Northern Beaches region of Sydney, it covers most of the land between Middle Harbour and the Tasman Sea.
It includes the suburbs of Allambie, Allambie Heights, Balgowlah, Balgowlah Heights, Balmoral, Beauty Point, Brookvale, Clifton Gardens, Clontarf, Cremorne Point, Curl Curl, Fairlight, Freshwater, Killarney Heights, Kurraba Point, Manly, Manly Vale, Mosman, North Balgowlah, North Curl Curl, North Head, North Manly, Queenscliff, Seaforth, and Wingala; as well as parts of Beacon Hill, Cremorne, Dee Why, Forestville, Frenchs Forest, Narraweena, and Neutral Bay.
Before 2019, the area covered by Warringah had been held by a conservative party without interruption since Federation; most of its territory had been part of North Sydney from 1901 to 1922.