Former premier of NSW Neville Wran has died after a long battle with dementia.
FORMER premier Neville Wran, one of the giants of NSW politics, has died at age 87.
Mr Wran, the long-serving premier who led the Labor government from May 1976 to July 1986, died just before 6pm last night in a nursing home in Elizabeth Bay. His wife Jill Hickson was with him and all his family were close by.
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Mr Wran suffered from dementia and had been under special care for the past two years.
"This is of course a very sad time for us all but in fact a blessed release for Neville,'' Ms Hickson said. "Dementia is a cruel fate and I have been grieving the loss that comes with it for some years. But I hope now, especially in this political climate, people will join me in celebrating the life of a great man, a true political hero."
Ms Hickson paid special tribute to the nursing staff of Lulworth House, who had been caring for the former premier, saying: "They really are angels. "
Tributes began flowing from both sides of politics last night. NSW Premier Mike Baird expressed his sadness at the news.
"In the 1970s and 1980s Mr Wran was a towering figure in the NSW Labor Party and in the state. His legacy is positive and lasting," he said.
Former Labor premiers Barrie Unsworth, Bob Carr, Nathan Rees, Neville Wran and Morris Iemma. Source: News Limited
Mr Baird said Mr Wran's family would be offered a State funeral.
Former NSW Labor premier and federal foreign minister Bob Carr said that Mr Wran was "the master" who "showed Labor the way to become the majority party of Australia — particularly by leading us back to government. And then winning landslide majorities and being re-elected in landslide majorities.
Neville Wran in 1978. Source: News Limited
Neville Wran in 1982. Source: News Limited
Neville Wran in 1978. Source: News Limited
Neville Wran in 1981. Source: News Limited
"He was a superb advocate with a great read of public opinion and a command of the common touch. He was earthy and elegant — able to come up with colourful turns of phrase, and with an acute intelligence behind it.
Jill Wran and husband Neville circa 1983. Source: News Limited
"He often said his landmark achievement was saving the rainforests of NSW, and that's true.
"And he linked the Labor Party — he was the first modern Labor leader to link the party with the environmental movement."
Dead at 87 ... former NSW premier Neville Wran. Source: News Limited
Mr Carr, who like Mr Wran served more than a decade as premier and beat his record for continuous service by several months, added of his death: "We knew it was coming. But the memories are vivid, and fond, and instructive."
Former premier Nick Greiner also paid tribute to Mr Wran.
"I think he was a superb political warrior. Probably the best party political warrior politician," he said. "As a politician he had the capacity to pitch his message superbly to each and every different interest group in society."
Neville Wran in 1978. Source: News Limited
Neville Wran in his later years. Source: News Limited
Australian Labor Party NSW branch secretary Jamie Clements said Mr Wran was one of the greatest NSW Labor premiers of all time. "He was beloved by the people of NSW,'' he said. "He had style, panache and was a great social reformer."
Neville Wran in 1988. Source: News Limited
Federal Communications Minister Liberal Malcolm Turnbull, who used to be in business with Mr Wran, last night said Mr Wran "was not one of those politicians solely and cynically focused on being re-elected, devoted to spin. He was a true believer, a doer, a reformer and a builder.
"He was also a tough partisan player, a ferocious political opponent unforgiving in his attacks on the Liberal Opposition and equally formidable as he defended himself from the slings and arrows that came his way.''
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Neville and Jill Wran circa 1983. Source: News Limited
Neville Wran in 1982. Source: News Limited
Former state and federal minister Laurie Brereton said: "Neville was the extraordinary political leader who led the rebuilding of Labor's fortunes following the
Whitlam dismissal. He was a tough and exacting leader, but a joy to work with. The difficulties the Labor Party has faced in recent times could never have happened under his stewardship."
Mr Wran dominated NSW politics and gave Labor new heart in one of its blackest periods. Nifty Nev, as he was known, was premier for 10 years and ALP national president for six.
The lawyer from working class Balmain — who famously once said Balmain boys don't cry — was a political rarity in deciding when to retire undefeated.
Farewell ... former premier Neville Wran. Source: News Limited
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