Outgoing Member for Murray Austin Evans quietly packed up his belongings and vacated the premises of his campaign office on Thursday morning.
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As he packed away the final box and locked the doors to his office one last time, it seemed to mark a definitive end to his 16 month term in office.
He's now looking for a job alongside his 19-year-old son, who has been supporting his dad every step of the way along the campaign trail.
Mr Evans has quite the resume; he's worked as an engineer, general manager, computer business owner, labourer, fruit picker, delivery driver, and, of course, Member for Murray.
He said he doesn't know what he'll do in the next chapter of his life, but he hasn't completely ruled out recontesting the seat of Murray in four year's time.
"If I ran again my wife would probably strangle me - she wouldn't want to go through one of those again in a hurry," Mr Evans said.
He said his wife and eldest son had been working tirelessly to prop up his campaign, and he said he was deeply grateful to them and all the people who helped him along the way.
He said he enjoyed his time as a state politician, and he says he can look back on his 16 month term with pride.
"It's not every 16 months you deliver $550 million of funding commitments," Mr Evans said.
He said he's looking forward to seeing those funding commitments bear fruit; as the new community centre, hospital, and sporting precinct spring up around Griffith he says he will be able to feel a sense of satisfaction.
He says it was a busy term and an exhausting campaign, but looking back he says it was all worth it.
He will now be passing on the torch to Shooters, Fishers and Farmers candidate Helen Dalton, who will be taking on the mantle as the next Member for Murray.
Mr Evans said Mrs Dalton had made some radical promises during her election campaign, and he would be watching closely to see whether she would be able to deliver them.
In particular, he described her promise of building a new hospital in two years as "not physically possible", saying it had a "snowball's chance in hell" of coming through.
He said he would make sure to hold Mrs Dalton accountable for any broken promises.
But whatever happens next, Mr Evans said he looked back on his term in office with no regrets.
"I have had a lot of people who helped me out, and I'm very thankful to all of them," Mr Evans said.
"It's been a privilege and I never took it for granted. If 16 months is all there is, I can say it's been a good 16 months."
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Kenji Sato
Kenji Sato is a handsome journalist at The Daily Advertiser who enjoys writing flattering bios about himself in the third person. He can be contacted by email at kenji.sato@dailyadvertiser.com.au or by mobile on 0448 927 612.
Kenji Sato is a handsome journalist at The Daily Advertiser who enjoys writing flattering bios about himself in the third person. He can be contacted by email at kenji.sato@dailyadvertiser.com.au or by mobile on 0448 927 612.
