Series 02: Alan Gibson Stewart papers, 1987-1989 - Page 581
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the Electoral Office. The Institute was traditionally the most important booth in Harbord, where most Labor supporters voted. It was also in the heart of the area where I was best known. Despite our pleas, Warringah Shire Council firmly refused to cancel the prior booking. They would not put the convenience of thousands of voters ahead of a family festivity.
It was obvious that many people would still turn up to vote at the Institute, so we decided to set up a shuttle bus service to transport them to the nearest booth. A minibus was hired for the day, and driven backwards and forwards all day by John Drummond and Leong Lim. John was a member of the Harbord ALP and a bus driver by profession. Leong was one of my friends from the University, a fellow biologist.
Our troops were composed of a mixture of local ALP members and other volunteers, many of whom had travelled across the city to help. They included people from other branches of the ALP, from the University, and my personal friends. Some were people I had never met, who simply wanted to help defeat the Tooth Fairy.
Our resources were still puny compared to those of the enemy. On every booth they outnumbered us by at least two to one. The ranks of the local Liberals were swollen by strangers, many of whom cheerfully admitted that they were being paid for a day's work. As well, there were Langworthy workers, calling on voters to stop the killing of babies; and girls in "SAVE THE