Door knocking on his first campaign, Larry Anthony learned more about his grandfather than years of family gatherings had ever revealed.
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The former Howard Government minister held the seat of Richmond in northern NSW that was previously held by his father Doug Anthony, a former Deputy Prime Minister, and his grandfather Larry Anthony senior.
The only three generations in the history of Australian federal politics, the Anthonys are National Party heart and soul.
Longtimers in the seat of Richmond refer to them as extraordinarily natural people and politicians who worked hard for the everyday man and woman.
MARKING 100 YEARS OF THE NATIONALS
No doubt Richmond constituents had many a story to tell Larry Anthony when he started his political career - his father and grandfather held the seat for 47 consecutive years.
Today, Mr Anthony is still with the Nationals in an administrative role as the federal president and has plenty of his own stories to tell.
He has, after all, seen success and defeat, every angle of politics and a lot of people come and go.
From his father, he learned to be patient, to listen, that it was best to keep your mouth shut until you had something of importance to say and that humility is very important.
That, he believes, is the hallmark of the success of the Nationals - "practical people and common sense."
A political party, he said, had to make its case for relevance at every election.
"You are only ever judged on people's hope for the future," he said.
Endurance
The Country Party was born out of a need in the post war era for strong representation for country people - not just farmers but blue collar workers in the regions.
"With demographic changes where there has been a major concentration of people in capital cities, there was always the view the party would contact but it held its own," Mr Anthony said.
"We are the oldest rural party in the Western world. We've endured."
The Nationals morphed into a strong voice outside of urban Australia and into a party that speaks for not only agriculture but mining, manufacturing - an area Mr Anthony believes the party should be pushing harder right now - and the services sectors like education and tourism that are vital to regional areas.
There were recurring themes in the party's history, he said.
The Nats have been at the forefront of almost every change in non-Labor Prime Ministers.
They have been good economic managers.
And they have always stood up for blue-collar workers, small business, families, and have generally represented the poorest electorates in the nation.
"Expanding agriculture markets and pushing for trade has been another hallmark - the value of which is very clear right now," Mr Anthony said.
Laser voice
The Anthonys have seen off a lot of political parties - the UAP, DLP, Democrats - and they place today's Shooters and Fishers, One Nation and Katter's Australian Party in the same basket.
"They come and go because they are more of a cult following. They've risen because of a particular issue but ultimately you have to have a critical mass," Mr Anthony said.
"And its important to have different views in a party.
"We're not perfect. We have differences in the party that can get messy.
"It's important in any organisation, you're not talking about yourself and at times we've indulged in that.
"But when push comes to shove we bind together and unite and the party is a laser voice for people who are often low income earners.
"Decentralisation, infrastructure, more dams, telecommunications - all the things those in the city take for granted we fight for to ensure we have thriving opportunities for the next generation in regional Australia."
Mr Anthony believes going forward, the party needs to fight to maintain essential industries, to ensure supply chains are in Australian hands and the nation protects its crucial business so it is self-sufficient should another crisis arise.
Family stories
At the Nationals' centenary gala dinner in Melbourne earlier this year, Mr Anthony gave a speech which resonated strongly with the troops and was peppered with entertaining and candid stories from his family's long connection with the party.
He spoke of seeing his father run the nation from a beachside caravan and refuse to have a phone, which apparently drove then PM Malcolm Fraser crazy.
He talked about his father crashing on the couch for a 15 minute snooze during parliamentary dinner breaks.
"He would often bring home his top-secret brief case which would be left open, sprawled on the floor," he said.
"Being a curious young lad, I would read it. Thank God there was no internet then otherwise I could be joining Julian Assange."
As for a fourth generation of Anthony in parliament, he says such a choice would ultimately be up to his own two sons and daughter.
"The desire has to come from within because politics is a hard life. You have to create your own journey," he said.