In 1974, the Liberal Party finally gained power in the region after many years in the wilderness.

Then, a young man named Alan Glyndwr Cadman walked from the family orchard in Galston into Parliament House, Canberra, after the defeat of the Whitlam Government with his ``No Airport for Galston'' campaign.

Now 70, Alan Cadman, MP for Mitchell, father of three boys and husband of Judy, is retiring because he no longer has the numbers.

He's a political feather duster but continues to crow like a prized rooster. It's almost as though he's in denial, despite giving his valedictory speech on his modest contribution to the Australian community in Federal Parliament two weeks ago.

Meanwhile, his replacement, Alex Hawke, the man who will strut the chook yard as surely as the sun comes up short of an accident has all but disappeared from the roost. For the time being.

Cadman is everywhere just now.

He's putting out community newsletters and has ad spaces booked to the end of October, spending on and on. If it all seems strange that's because there hasn't been a lame duck MP in Mitchell before. Cadman resigned the night before he would have been pushed by his then right-wing rival and he's been dumping on the ``extremists'' ever

since.

This is hugely ironic, since he himself prayed at the altar of the Christian right.

Only last week in aifThe Australianaif, Cadman was lashing out at the extreme right-wing faction saying it was no longer concerned with values or policies.

It had become obsessed with power for its own sake, a point most reasonable observers would agree with.

So, loyal to the end, an embittered Alan Cadman continues to support the party that tossed him aside.

As one insider noted: ``Cadman's beside himself. He's tried every truck in the book to stay in the game. He's been outraged that he was branch-stacked out of power though he never complained when people supported him the same way.

``But the era is almost over.''

Howard must call the election eventually, and that's the end of Cadman, who retires on a huge pension, with a host of others.

But he'll miss the parliamentary life mightily. And many locals will miss him, too.