It was first created for the 2020 New Zealand general election and has since then been held by Joseph Mooney of the National Party.

It is the second-largest general electorate in New Zealand, behind West Coast-Tasman, and is predominantly rural in nature.

The electorate includes Gore, Winton, Mataura, Alexandra, Arrowtown, Queenstown and Te Anau (among others), and much of Fiordland National Park.

The Representation Commission initially proposed to move Winton and The Catlins into Invercargill, but after a public consultation process these areas remained in Southland, which instead shed a large area in West Southland around Tuatapere.

[5] Mooney was elected by a margin of 5,645 votes over Labour Party candidate Jon Mitchell.