The politically-sensitive federal electorate of Eden-Monaro has been the power base for two remarkable, influential and high-flying Members of Parliament, Sir Austin Chapman and Allan Fraser CMG. Between Federation and Whitlam, these representatives – one a Deakinite liberal and the other socialist – each held the loyalty, trust and majority of votes in this prized electorate for more than quarter of a century. They served with heart and mind and knew both jubilance and exhaustion. Eleanor Robin takes us from the high plains of federal policy and governance to the essence of Australian democracy where, in the daily lived experience, citizens demand both a personal advocate and a representation of their interests and views on the national agenda. She interweaves a knowledge of place and perceptive biography with significant national and regional history.