The electorate was first created in 1987 and derives its name from the Katherine River.
With the extension of the North Australia Railway in 1926, a bridge across the Katherine River was opened, allowing local businesses to move from the rail head town of Emungalan to more favourable sites on the southern bank of the river in the new township of Katherine.
In 1914, following the Commonwealth taking over administration of the Northern Territory and railway, the line was extended to Emungalan, on the northern bank of the Katherine River to serve the pastoral industry and transport cattle to Vestey's Meatworks in Darwin.
Mississippi River | River Thames | Amazon River | Columbia River | Hudson River | Colorado River | Potomac River | river | Ohio River | Missouri River | Delaware River | Murray River | River Tyne | Madeira River | Volga River | River Nene | River Clyde | River Trent | River Severn | Amur River | River Wear | Allegheny River | Red River | Dnieper River | Yarra River | Paraná River | River Tees | Fraser River | Yangtze River | Tocantins River |