Foxy, history remembers the movers and shakers, like Gough. As for the staid do nothing types, well the dust bin of history for them.
Look at the positive achievements of the father of The Conservative Party in Australia 'Pig Iron' Bob Menzies our longest serving Prime Minister.

List of achievements of Bob Menzies;
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The End.

Dear Paul,

I've got to confess that my parents and other older
family members, including my in-laws who lived in the
Melbourne suburb of Kew - were very strong supporters of
Sir Robert Menzies because of his anti-communist
stance. Also lets not forget that some 100,000
Australians turned out in the Melbourne CBD to pay
tribute to Sir Robert after he died at age 83.
This provides an indication of the respect with which
Sir Robert was held by many.

Foxy, my old man was rusted on Labor, but mum always voted for Mr Menzies, as many women did. After 'Pig Iron' Bob she switched and voted Labor for the rest of her life, about 40 years.
Yes Menzies was well loved by many Australians, and there was a genuine sadness at his passing. For many Menzies was a pillar of stability. I think those years were a period of lost opportunity for Australia, but others would choose to disagree.

Dear Paul,

My politics changed from that of my family after
we lived and worked in the US for a little over
ten years. I saw what the Republicans there were really
all about and then began to see the Liberals in a
different light on our return - even though I'm not too thrilled
with the Labor Party currently. I did vote Liberal
at the last State election because I liked our
local candidate who works so hard for her electorate.
I also admire (and like) Kelly O'Dwyer, and of course -
Julie Bishop. It's all up to the leadership - of the
Party and the puppet masters . Who knows where my
politics will be at the next election. It depends
what's on offer - and the policies. I couldn't take Mr Abbott
seriosuly - he had nothing to offer except for rhetoric -
"Stop the boats," "Get rid of the carbon tax,"
but nothing on education, health, et cetera.
I wonder if it will be the same thing in a few years time.

Foxy, like you I think for myself, in 2013 I voted 1 Green 2 Liberal, I was shocked when the Liberal just failed to take the seat from Labor. The Liberal Party actually stood the better candidate in my opinion. Labor was behind on 1st preferences but won on the Green vote. I often scrutineer for The Greens, generally about 20% of our vote flows to The Liberal Party. In the NSW state it is optional preferential, last time there was no way I was going to give a preference to either of the big two. Given Labor was corrupt, and the Liberal candidate was a blow in air head, again in my opinion. The air head still managed a 16% swing, not bad for a dumbo, who did little campaigning against the Labor Premier, Obeids Gal as she was called. The outstanding candidate was The Green candidate who ran third, but she is now in parliament in the upper house, and Maureen is proving to be a real asset for us.