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coping well. We were not outnumbered on the booths. As before, the ranks of the ALP faithful had been swelled by my friends and supporters, some having travelled long distances to help. Similarly, the Liberals were assisted by David Hay's personal supporters, many of whom were members of sports clubs.

Our communications were the best ever. The electorate was divided into three zones, each of which was equipped with a car to ferry people about and a van to deliver refreshments. Each vehicle could thus deal with a manageable number of booths. They also had time to keep in regular touch with the communications centre in Manly. Coombsie drove me around all the booths in the electorate, leaving Bob Quail free to oversee the communications. He could deploy reserves wherever they were required.

The day passed quickly. With the rain gone, the booth workers got on with their regular routine of soliciting votes for their candidate. There were were no stunts, no aeroplanes overhead, no religious fanatics.

There were three independents running, but none were likely to do me any harm. They were first on the ballot paper, then came Hay, and I was last. With those positions, neither of the main candidates would benefit significantly from the "donkey" vote.

To avoid the confusion and trauma that had

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