The seat was first proclaimed in 1901 and was named after the second Governor of New South Wales, John Hunter (1737-1821).
Since 1901 only nine people have been elected to represent the seat of Hunter in the Federal Parliament. The first Member for Hunter was Sir Edmund Barton who served as Prime Minister between 1 January 1901 and 24 September 1903.
At the time of the last Federal Election in 2013, there were 97 275 electors enrolled to vote in an area of approximately 20 111 sq km.
The main townships of the electorate include; Muswellbrook, Denman, Aberdeen, Merriwa, Murrurundi, Scone, Singleton, Branxton, Kandos, Broke, Maitland, Kurri Kurri, Cessnock and Wollombi.
The Local Government areas of Muswellbrook, Mid Western, Singleton, Cessnock and Maitland fall within the electorate boundaries.
Hunter also includes the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of Bathurst, Cessnock, Upper Hunter and parts of Maitland.
The main industries and products of the area include; agriculture, coal-mining, dairy farming, engineering, farming, forestry, fruit and vegetables, horse studs and racing, timber milling, tourism, wine grapes, wineries and wool and the Liddell and Bayswater Power Stations also fall within the electorate.
For a detailed map of the electorate click here 2009 Hunter Electorate Map.