First won at the 1970 election by the Liberal and Country League on a two-party margin of just 0.4 percent, it bounced between a marginal to safe Liberal seat, held by Heini Becker, until it was transformed into a marginal Labor seat by the redistribution ahead of the 1993 election, but was retained by Liberal Stewart Leggett before being won by Labor for the first time at the 1997 election as a marginal Labor seat represented by Steph Key. Hanson was abolished and renamed to Ashford ahead of the 2002 election which Labor and Key have retained since.