Talk:John Wren

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Point of View[edit]

A more balanced recent account is Chris McConville's article in Labour History, "John Wren: Machine Boss" (1981). A differing account of his life was published in 2004 in book called "John Wren: A Life Reconsidered" by James Griffin. This book presents a more biased view of Wren's life and the way in which Hardy describes him in "Power Without Glory" is met with little acknowledgement of the corrupt nature of Wren's life.

I altered the above entry to remove the POV.--Jack Upland 00:27, 21 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Libel[edit]

After Wren's death in 1953 (at the 1953 AFL grand final from a heart attack) his widow sued Hardy for criminal libel, but Hardy was acquitted.

This original account appears to be wrong as sources say Hardy was tried in 1951. I've also added more detail.--Jack Upland 01:39, 21 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

family?[edit]

There needs to be something in there about his family -- marriage, children, etc. The main connection I'm aware of is his granddaughter Gabrielle Pizzi, but there needs to be at least one or two lines contextualizing that. --lquilter 20:45, 30 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

"Frank Brennan"[edit]

I think the Frank Brennan in this article is not the same as the Frank Brennan that appears when the hotlink is followed. Different generations altogether. There would be a lot of "Frank Brennans" in Australia. 210.11.146.197 12:59, 17 October 2007 (UTC) (Julian O'Dea)[reply]

Balance[edit]

Why is it deemed necessary to note that Frank Hardy was a member of the Communist Party, while it is not deemed necessary to note the right wing Catholic affiliations of the other players, such as Mannix, whom it has been argued were instrumental in the Labor Split? This is a BIASED article. Even the conservative Australian Financial Review recently described John Wren as a "crime boss" (http://www.afr.com/real-estate/family-of-melbourne-crime-boss-john-wren-to-sell-festival-hall-site-20180123-h0n0k5).

It's a curious comment you make and slightly unusual in its emphasis; Mannix was a complex figure but I've never heard of him being described as having "right wing Catholic affiliations". He was certainly Catholic. Why don't you add something to the page to substantiate your claim that Wren was a crime boss using references rather than focus on the relatively unimportant reference to Hardy? Simple assertions that something must be true because AFR is conservative (doubtful) doesn't carry much weight be way of an argument. Gumsaint (talk) 05:38, 27 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

While the OP was rather over-the-top, the emphasis placed on Hardy's membership of the Communist Party of Australia, and characterisation of Power Without Glory as "a savage attack", did seem strange and slightly insinuative. I have rewritten the section to better align with WP:NPOV while maintaining mention of Hardy's communist background, which I think is relevant to his and Wren's relationship. Oreb Good Bird (talk) 15:50, 10 September 2021 (UTC)[reply]