NSW Liberal Premier Mike Baird had plenty of time to take in the scene as he walked to his seat at the state funeral for his fabled Labor forerunner Neville Wran.
Labor party banners hung either side of the Sydney Town Hall stage, which was set up to resemble a party conference with a long, red-draped table, in front of which sat a lone, empty chair for the absent hero.
Politicians had come from both sides of the political divide for this farewell, but it was undoubtedly Labor's day.
Former prime ministers Bob Hawke and Paul Keating were there, as was a timeline of Labor leaders of the Premier State: Kristina Keneally, Nathan Rees, Morris Iemma, Bob Carr and Barrie Unsworth.
Federal opposition leader Bill Shorten led the Canberra contingent, along with Tanya Plibersek, Anthony Albanese and John Faulkner.
A host of former Labor ministers, state and federal, were also in the crowd.
Among the Liberals, chief government whip Philip Ruddock represented Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
Mr Wran would have appreciated the scene.
He was, as Mr Keating told mourners, dedicated to the political battle.
"Someone who wanted to change things while simultaneously visiting pain and suffering on his opponents" is how Mr Keating described him.
But Mr Wran maintained the common touch - understanding the concerns of garbos in pubs, as Mr Carr put it, at the same time as he was expanding art galleries.
That instinct helps explain the four election victories Mr Wran achieved during his 10 years in office and the regard on display for him on Thursday.
As the hearse carrying his Australian flag-draped coffin pulled away, people standing outside the Town Hall applauded - some of them the Labor stalwarts from inside, and others simply those come to pay their respects.
Unsworth tells a story from Wran's pre-political days as a barrister that is both an extraordinary coincidence and a pointer to the scale of his legacy.
"My connection with him goes back to 1958 when, as a young electrician, I fell off my motorbike and Neville appeared for me in the District Court," Mr Unsworth said outside the Town Hall.
"He got me 200 pounds for pain and suffering. He was always one who brought benefit to the ordinary people and that's what I was in those days."
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