Its first election was notable in producing Western Australia's first Labor member of Parliament, Charles Oldham, who had been a president of the Trades and Labor Council and had become an employer, and hence could afford to run in the days prior to payment of members.
[1] Oldham associated with the official opposition led by George Leake, but ultimately his seat was declared vacant for non-attendance on 16 October 1900.
An independent, Richard Speight, won at the subsequent general election four months later, but died seven months into his term.
The seat changed hands several times between Labor and non-Labor members until 1914, when James MacCallum Smith won the seat for the Liberal party, which folded into the Nationalist.
Future Premier of Western Australia (1982–1983), Ray O'Connor, won his first term of office against the incumbent Labor member Stan Lapham in the 1959 election.