A new book about controversial former Wollongong lord mayor, state MP, and paedophile Frank Arkell probes the "double life" of a man who had a high-profile career in public while hiding a dark secret.
Francis Neville Arkell was lord mayor from 1974 to 1991, and independent state MP for Wollongong from 1984 to 1991.
He was known as Mr Wollongong and coined the phrase Wonderful Wollongong, a phrase that stuck with him till his gruesome bashing murder in June 1998.
Author and historian Erik Eklund grew up in Wollongong and said he remembered as a young man hearing rumours about Arkell.
Mr Eklund said he had researched the public record in detail in an effort to provide a balanced account of the controversial public figure, named ahead of his death as one of a number of high-profile secret paedophiles.
He led a double life
"So once you put it together, consolidate it and assess it, the evidence, it's pretty clear that he was leading a double life of quite remarkable proportions really," Mr Eklund said.
"I think as a biographer, I am interested in his business dealings, and I am interested in him as a politician.
"I think there are questions about what were the keys to his political success. Why was he able to keep winning elections over all those years?"
Mr Eklund said his role as a biographer was to step back and say the allegations around child abuse were a huge and controversial part of his life, but so also was his political success.
"What explained his electoral popularity? To defeat the Labor Party to win the seat of Wollongong was quite an achievement in 1984 and in '88," he said.
"I suspect with Frank Arkell, everyone has a view, and often everyone has a story, whether they met him or he officiated at a function.
