[1] Ku-ring-gai was created before the 1973 election and was held by John Maddison, a minister in the government of Askin, who had previously been the member for Hornsby.

Maddison retired in 1980 and future Premier of New South Wales Nick Greiner won the seat at a by-election.

Barry O'Farrell transferred to Ku-ring-gai in 1999 after his seat of Northcott was abolished, and held it when he became Premier after leading the Coalition to a massive landslide victory in the 2011 state election.

He resigned as premier in 2014 and retired from politics after the 2015 state election, handing the seat to fellow Liberal Alister Henskens.

At the 2011 election, for instance, O'Farrell was reelected with 81.3% of the two-candidate-preferred vote, making Ku-ring-gai the safest seat in the entire NSW parliament.