It was named after the Aboriginal name for Lake George, which was located in the division in 1901. At that time, the electorate was a large rural one that that stretched from the south west of Sydney up to the northern ACT, taking in Lake George in the process.

In succeeding years, it began to shrink and from 1913 onwards no longer had the lake. In spite of this, and further major changes to its borders that saw it become a south-western Sydney city electorate over 150 km away from Lake George, it has retained the name of Werriwa, primarily for bureaucratic reasons.

Werriwa now covers an area of approximately 168 sq km from Raby, St Andrews and parts of Leumeah in the south to Kemps Creek, Cecil Hills, Green Valley, Miller, Cartwright, Lurnea and Casula in the north and bounded by the Georges River to the east and generally by South Creek, Kemps Creek and the Camden/Campbelltown Council boundary to the west. The main suburbs include Austral, Cartwright, Casula, Cecil Hills, Denham Court, Edmondson Park, Glenfield, Green Valley, Hinchinbrook, Hoxton Park, Ingleburn, Kemps Creek, Leumeah (part), Lurnea, Macquarie Fields, Miller, Minto, Prestons, Raby, St Andrews and Varroville.

Werriwa is currently represented by Mark Latham, the current Leader of the Federal Australian Labor Party.

It is also remembered for being the elecorate of former Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam.

Links: