They moved from meeting to meeting, up to 10 in day.

Drummond would usually spoke in the open air (during the whole campaign he only spoke in halls three times including his campaign opening in the Inverell Town Hall) then adjourn to a room with his local committee to sign scrutineer and other forms and lay out the plan of organisation.

After the meetings were finished, he and Stephen would retire, often as late as 1am, to a quiet place in the countryside to spend the night.

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The travellers had always to be ready for the unexpected. One night Drummond arrived at Ashford to find the whole village in darkness, for the circus was in town and the whole countryside was at it.

There was no chance of coming back Drummond therefore asked the manager if he could speak at half-time. He responded dubiously, "that if I could stand it he supposed he could".

At half time Drummond bounded into the ring with a small wooden box: "Ladies and gentlemen. My name is David Drummond Progressive Candidate at the forthcoming state election. Take a good look at me and make up your mind what you think of me. Vote Drummond No. 1".

Grabbing the box, he made a fast exit before the bottles etc. began to fly. "That was the shortest political speech I ever made," he later recalled.

Considering that the other Progressive candidates would concentrate first on the towns, Drummond focused on the country districts.

In those days, before radio and television, politicians could still attract large public audiences. Since Drummond was the first candidate in the field it was not unusual to find 90 to 100 people gathered at some agreed cross roads, "really alert and stirred up to break free from being run by 'city lawyers' and nominees of the Nationalist Party Executives".

Drummond usually devoted the first half of his speech to an explanation of proportional representation. This always gained a good response and allowed him to preach his political message during the second half of his speech.

His theme was always 'Decentralization, Development and Decent Government'. He usually finished by saying that "Parties, Platforms and Policies existed for only one reason, the good government of the people. When they ceased to serve this end they should cease."

Drummond was now developing campaign guidelines that he generally observed throughout his long political career.

"I never made the mistake then or later of slanging my opponents. I simply ignored their existence. Never did I make the cardinal blunder of dealing with past incidents in Parliament. 'You people know all about what has been happening in the past in Parliament. What you are interested in hearing is the Policy of the Progressives' and I went on to explain my own version of that policy."

This approach was "new and held an audience tired of the old political clap". It also "compelled the opposition to fight on a battle ground of my own choosing".