Arkell was a larger-than-life public figure in Wollongong for almost two decades. He held the position for 17 years, from 1974 to 1991.

For part of that time, he was also the independent MP for the state seat of Wollongong. In a Labor stronghold, he won the seat in 1984 and was re-elected in 1988.

He served during a time when Wollongong was in recession, with steelworkers being retrenched, and worked to create a positive image of the city - which was certainly needed at the time.

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But there was also a dark side, which rose up out of the Wood Royal Commission into police corruption, later widened to include investigations into paedophilia and whether high-ranking officers were protecting public figures from prosecution.

The commission heard several men claim they had been victims of an alleged offender code-named W1.

The identity of W1 was known by many in Wollongong, but was made public by former state politician Franca Arena when she used parliamentary privilege to unmask him as Frank Arkell.

In May 1997, Arkell was arrested and charged with a string of sex offences and had a preliminary hearing, where testimony included a victim stating when he was 14 Arkell offered $20 for a sexual act in a public toilet.

During the hearing, 17 of the 29 charged were dropped, but the remainder were due to be heard by a Sydney court in September 1998.

That court hearing never took place; Arkell was murdered in his West Wollongong home in June.

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How he managed to hide in plain sight for so long is perhaps the key question Eklund has to address in the Arkell biography.

"I think for a start Frank Arkell was a very capable politician," Eklund said.

"He was very plausible and he presented a very strong, almost untouchable public front. He was always in character if you like; he never had a moment of reflection, he was always Frank Arkell."

"I think he was very adept at working with people. We know now from the Wood Royal Commission in 1997 that there were police inquiries, at least into actions of [former Mayor] Tony Bevan. We do know that police had reports on what Tony Bevan was up to.

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"So I think in that age there was a sense of deference to people in power, a sense that maybe it was inappropriate to pursue these questions."

The Wood Royal Commission found police didn't investigate Bevan - who ran a paedophile network - or follow up on similar complaints about clergymen because they could not believe a high-profile person

would commit such crimes.

It was a cover that served them well - including Arkell.

"There was a group of men in Wollongong, all of whom were very well-off, very well-connected," Eklund said.

"They had links through business circles, they had the links through local government. Frank Arkell was very heavily involved in the Catholic Church and went to church on a regular basis.

"I think all those characteristics added up to what looked like on the outside a respectable life. I think that certainly did function to stop any scrutiny or deflect any serious attention to the matter."

Layered over that were the rumours that Arkell was gay. While homosexuality and paedophilia are two very separate things, in the 1980s being gay was not something discussed openly, certainly not when it involved a public figure.

So people chose to overlook it, deciding it wasn't appropriate to pry into his private life.

"That all comes together and adds up to him being able to carry on that double life for decades," Eklund said.

It's a part of Arkell's life that has drawn a lot of the focus on the man since his murder, but as a Eklund is aiming to provide a fuller picture - that includes looking at his time as a mayor and state MP and what he did for the city.

"I'm also researching questions about his contributions," Eklund said.

"The way in which he tried to look at green corridors in Wollongong, looking at cleaning up parks and gardens. He was a big supporter of the university at a time when that wasn't really the case with most politicians in the region.

"In the 1970s especially, this was an appealing message to people in the city because the coal mines and the steelworks dominated.

"And they dominated the national image of Wollongong. I think Arkell provided an alternative vision, if you like. I think that's one of the reason why people voted for him.

"He was Lord Mayor for so long, and then you get to this stage where he runs against Labor in the state state of Wollongong and he wins in 1984 and in 1988. That's quite an achievement for an independent politician to beat Labor in Wollongong."

Eklund was born and raised in Wollongong. He played junior soccer and can remember Arkell turning up to trophy presentations and an Oak Flats gala day.

"He was there and my mother chatted to him afterwards," Eklund said.

"He was that sort of politician and a lot of people remembered him. He was very capable, very affable, he loved being in the limelight and loved turning up to those events."

He was drawn to write an Arkell biography - which is due out in the middle of next year - because he felt it was a "classic Wollongong story".

"I thought everyone in Wollongong has an opinion about Frank Arkell, at least that's what I'm finding now as I'm doing this work," he said.

"They often have a story they want to tell, whether it's something he said or something he did. So I just feel like it's such an interesting topic that a lot of people will have a view on, so it's probably a good time to sit down and do some concerted research and pull together the details of his life."