Earle Page: Difference between revisions

| honorific_prefix = [[The Right Honourable]]

| name             = Sir Earle Page

| honorific_suffix = {{Post-nominals|country=AUS|size=100%|GCMG|CH|FRCS}}

| image           = Earle Page - Falk Studios (cropped).jpg

| caption         = Official portrait {{circa}} 1939

| order           = 11th

| office           = Prime Minister of Australia

| monarch         = [[George VI]]

| governor-general = [[Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie|Lord Gowrie]]

| predecessor     = [[Joseph Lyons]]

| successor       = [[Robert Menzies]]

| order1           = 2nd

| office1         = National Party of Australia#List of leaders{{!}}Leader of the Country Party

| deputy1         = {{Collapsible list|title=''See list''|[[Henry Gregory (politician)|Henry Gregory]]|[[William Fleming (Australian politician)|William Fleming]]|[[William Gibson (Australian politician)|William Gibson]]|[[Thomas Paterson]]|[[Harold Thorby]]}}

| predecessor1     = [[William McWilliams]]

| successor1       = [[Archie Cameron]]

| office2         = [[Minister for Health (Australia)|Minister for Health]]

| term_start2     = 19 December 1949

| term_end2       = 11 January 1956

| predecessor2     = [[Nick McKenna]]

| successor2       = [[Donald Alastair Cameron|Donald Cameron]]

| term_start3     = 29 November 1937

| term_end3       = 7 November 1938

| predecessor3     = [[Billy Hughes]]

| successor3       = [[Harry Foll]]

| office4         = [[Department of Commerce (Australia)|Minister for Commerce]]

| term_start4     = 28 October 1940

| prime_minister4  = {{Plainlist|

| predecessor4     = Archie Cameron

| successor4       = [[William Scully (Australian politician)|William Scully]]

| term_start5     = 9 November 1934

| term_end5       = 26 April 1939

| predecessor5     = [[Frederick Stewart (Australian politician)|Frederick Stewart]]

| successor5       = [[George McLeay]]

| office6         = [[Treasurer of Australia]]

| term_start6     = 9 February 1923

| term_end6       = 21 October 1929

| predecessor6     = Stanley Bruce

| successor6       = [[Ted Theodore]]

| office7         = [[List of longest-serving members of the Parliament of Australia|Father of the House]]

| term_start7     = 28 October 1952

| term_end7       = 9 December 1961

| predecessor7     = Billy Hughes

| successor7       = [[Eddie Ward]]

| office8         = [[Parliament of Australia|Member of the Australian Parliament]] <br /> for [[Division of Cowper|Cowper]]

| term_start8     = 13 December 1919

| term_end8       = 9 December 1961

| predecessor8     = [[John Thomson (Australian politician)|John Thomson]]

| successor8       = [[Frank McGuren]]

| order9           = 1st

| office9         = University of New England (Australia)#Administration{{!}}Chancellor of the University of New England

| term_start9     = 8 February 1955

| term_end9       = 1960

| predecessor9     = ''Position established''

| successor9       = [[Phillip Wright]]

| birth_date       = {{Birth date|1880|8|8|df=y}}

| birth_place     = [[Grafton, New South Wales]], Australia

| birth_name       = Earle Christmas Grafton Page

| death_date       = {{Death date and age|1961|12|20|1880|8|8|df=y}}

| death_place     = [[Royal Prince Alfred Hospital|Camperdown]], [[New South Wales]], Australia

| resting_place   = [[St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney]]

| party           = [[National Party of Australia|Country]]

| education       = {{Plainlist|

| alma_mater       = [[University of Sydney]]

| relatives       = {{hlist|[[Harold Page|Harold]] (brother)|[[Rodger Page|Rodger]] (brother)|[[Robert Page (soldier)|Robert]] (nephew)|[[Geoff Page|Geoff]] (grandson)|[[Don Page (politician)|Don]] (grandson)}}

| occupation       = {{Hlist|Doctor|Surgeon|Politician}}

| spouse           = {{plainlist|

| children         = 5

| signature       = Earle Page signature 1960.svg

| allegiance       = Australia

| branch           = [[Australian Army]]

| service_years    = 1916–17

| rank             = [[Captain (armed forces)|Captain]]

| unit             = [[Royal Australian Army Medical Corps]]

| battles         = [[World War I]]

'''Sir Earle Christmas Grafton Page''' (8 August 1880{{spaced ndash}}20 December 1961) was an Australian politician and surgeon who served as the 11th [[Prime Minister of Australia]] from 7 to 26 April 1939, in a [[Acting (law)|caretaker]] capacity following the death of [[Joseph Lyons]]. He was the leader of the [[National Party of Australia|Country Party]] from 1921 to 1939, and was the most influential figure in its later years.

Page was born in [[Grafton, New South Wales]]. He entered the [[University of Sydney]] at the age of 15, and completed a degree in medicine at the age of 21. After completing his [[medical residency]] at [[Royal Prince Alfred Hospital]] in [[Sydney]], he moved back to Grafton and opened a private hospital. He soon became involved in local politics, and in 1915 purchased a part-share in ''[[The Daily Examiner]]'', a local newspaper. He also briefly was a military surgeon during [[World War I]]. Page gained prominence as an advocate of various development schemes for the [[Northern Rivers]] region, especially those involving hydroelectricity. He also helped found a movement for [[New England New State Movement|New England statehood]].

At the [[1919 Australian federal election]], Page was elected to the [[Parliament of Australia]] representing the [[Division of Cowper]]. He joined the new Country Party the following year as its inaugural [[Whip (politics)|whip]], and then replaced [[William McWilliams]] as party leader in 1921. Page opposed the economic policies of Prime Minister [[Billy Hughes]], and when the Country Party gained the [[balance of power (parliament)|balance of power]] at the [[1922 Australian federal election|1922 election]], he demanded Hughes' resignation as the price for a coalition with the [[Nationalist Party (Australia)|Nationalist Party]]. He was subsequently made [[Treasurer of Australia]] under the new prime minister, [[Stanley Bruce]], serving in that role from 1923 to 1929. He had a significant degree of influence on domestic policy, with Bruce concentrating on international issues.

Page's last major role was as [[Minister for Health (Australia)|Minister for Health]] (1949–1956) in the post-war [[Menzies Government (1949-1966)|Menzies Government]]. He retired from cabinet at the age of 76, and died a short time after losing his seat at the [[1961 Australian federal election|1961 election]]. Page served in parliament for almost 42 years, the [[List of longest-serving members of the Parliament of Australia|third longest-serving Australian parliamentarian]] of all time; only Menzies lasted longer as the leader of a major Australian political party. He secured his party's independence by refusing overtures to merge with the Nationalists and the UAP, and the policies that he favoured – decentralisation, agrarianism, and government support of primary industry – have remained the basis of its platform up to the present day. The coalitions that he established and maintained with Bruce and Lyons have served as a model for [[Coalition (Australia)|all subsequent coalition governments]].

In February 1916, Page enlisted in the [[Australian Army Medical Corps]], at the rank of Captain.<ref>[https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/page-sir-earle-christmas-7941 Australian Dictionary of Biography - Sir Earle Christmas Grafton Page], accessed 17 February 2026.</ref> He was chief medical officer aboard the troopship {{Abbr|HMAT|His Majesty's Australian Transport}} ''Ballarat'', and was then stationed at an army hospital in [[Cairo]] for several months. He was transferred to a hospital in England in July 1916, and concluded his service as a surgical specialist at a [[casualty clearing station]] in France. Page returned to Australia in March 1917 and was discharged from the military in July 1917.<ref name=obit/> Although his active involvement in medicine declined as his political career progressed, he was frequently called upon to treat his fellow MPs or parliamentary staff. This was particularly true after the federal government moved to Canberra, as the new capital had only a handful of qualified surgeons. In 1928, for instance, he performed an emergency appendectomy on [[Parker Moloney]].<ref>[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/237788309 "EARLE PAGE SAVES LIFE OF LABOR MEMBER"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180129195518/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/237788309 |date=29 January 2018 }}, ''[[Labor Daily]]'', 18 September 1928.</ref>

Page's medical career brought him considerable wealth, and he began investing in land. He bought several large farming properties in [[South East Queensland]], including in [[Nerang]], [[Kandanga]], and the [[Numinbah Valley]]; Pages Pinnacle in the Numinbah State Forest is named after him.<ref>{{cite web|title=Pages Pinnacle|url=http://www.goldcoaststories.com.au/pages-pinnacle/|website=Gold Coast Stories|date=28 December 2017|publisher=City of Gold Coast|access-date=27 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180127203256/http://www.goldcoaststories.com.au/pages-pinnacle/|archive-date=27 January 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> His entry into public life came about as a result of his passion for [[hydroelectricity]], which he first observed in New Zealand while attending a medical convention in 1910. He believed that it could be applied to the [[Northern Rivers]] region, which was still mostly unelectrified outside of the major towns. Page was elected to the [[South Grafton, New South Wales|South Grafton Municipal Council]] in 1913, believing his position as an [[alderman]] would be useful in his lobbying efforts. However, his overtures to the state government were rebuffed. In 1915, Page was one of the founders of the [[New England New State Movement|Northern New South Wales Separation League]], which advocated the creation of a new state in the [[New England (New South Wales)|New England]] region. He toured a number of towns to raise awareness of the new movement, but interest waned as a result of the ongoing war. Later that year, he was part of a syndicate that bought ''[[The Daily Examiner]]'', the local newspaper in Grafton.<ref name=adb>{{cite AuDB |first=Carl|last= Bridge|author-link=Carl Bridge|title=Page, Sir Earle Christmas (1880–1961)

Page was elected leader of the Country Party in 1921, replacing [[William McWilliams]]. At the [[1922 Australian federal election|1922 federal election]] the party campaigned on a platform which included the establishment of a national [[sinking fund]], national insurance scheme covering "sickness, unemployment, poverty and age", and conversion of the [[Commonwealth Bank]] into a full [[central bank]].{{sfn|Hawkins|2009|p=57}} The party emerged from the election with the [[Balance of power (parliament)|balance of power]] in the House; the [[Nationalist Party of Australia|Nationalist]] government of [[Billy Hughes]] lost its majority and could not govern without Country Party support. It soon became apparent that the price for that support would be a full coalition with the Nationalists. However, the Country Party had been formed partly due to discontent with Hughes' rural policy, and Page's animosity toward Hughes was such that he would not even consider supporting him. Indeed, he would not even begin talks with the Nationalists as long as Hughes remained leader.  Bowing to the inevitable, Hughes resigned.<ref name=naamc>{{cite web|title=Earle Page, Member for Cowper 1919|work=Australia's Prime Ministers|publisher=[[National Archives of Australia]]|url=http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/primeministers/page/before-office.aspx#section3|access-date=19 March 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100718002920/http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/primeministers/page/before-office.aspx#section3|archive-date=18 July 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Page then began negotiations with Hughes' successor as leader of the Nationalists, [[Stanley Bruce]]. His terms were stiff; he wanted his Country Party to have five seats in an 11-man cabinet, including the post of [[Treasurer of Australia|Treasurer]] and the second rank in the ministry for himself. These demands were unprecedented for a prospective junior coalition partner in a Westminster system, and especially so for such a new party. Nonetheless, Bruce agreed rather than force another election.<ref name=naamc/> For all intents and purposes, Page was the first [[Deputy Prime Minister of Australia]] (a title that did not officially exist until 1968). Since then, the leader of the [[National Party of Australia|Country/National Party]] has been the second-ranking member in nearly every [[Coalition (Australia)|non-Labor government]]. Page was [[Acting Prime Minister of Australia|acting prime minister]] on several occasions, and in January 1924 chaired the first meeting of [[Cabinet of Australia|Federal Cabinet]] ever held in [[Canberra]], at [[Government House, Canberra|Yarralumla]]. Parliament did not move to Canberra until 1927.<ref>[http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/timeline/results.aspx?type=pm&pm=Stanley%20Melbourne%20Bruce National Archives of Australia, Australia's Prime Ministers: Timeline] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330133320/http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/timeline/results.aspx?type=pm&pm=Stanley%20Melbourne%20Bruce |date=30 March 2019 }}. Retrieved 14 December 2015</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16124454 |title=Cabinet meeting today |newspaper=[[Sydney Morning Herald]] |date=30 January 1924 |page=13 |access-date=14 December 2015 |via=Trove}}</ref>

When Lyons died suddenly in 1939, the [[Governor-General of Australia]] [[Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie|Lord Gowrie]] appointed Page as caretaker prime minister pending the UAP choosing a new leader. He held the office for three weeks until the UAP elected former deputy leader [[Robert Menzies]] as its new leader, and hence prime minister.<ref name=naasio>{{cite web|title=Earle Page, In office|work=Australia's Prime Ministers|publisher=[[National Archives of Australia]]|url=http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/primeministers/page/in-office.aspx|access-date=19 March 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100718003048/http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/primeministers/page/in-office.aspx|archive-date=18 July 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> Page had been close to Lyons, but disliked Menzies, whom he charged publicly with having been disloyal to Lyons. Page contacted Stanley Bruce (now in London as [[Australian High Commissioner to the UK]]) and offered to resign his seat if Bruce would return to Australia to seek re-election to the parliament in a by-election for Page's old seat, and then seek election as UAP leader.  Bruce said that he would only re-enter the parliament as an independent.<ref>Black Inc, ''Earle Page, Prime Minister of Australia''</ref>

Fadden replaced Menzies as prime minister in August 1941. A few weeks later, cabinet decided to send Page to London as [[resident minister]], with the intention that he would be granted access to the [[British War Cabinet]]. While he was en route to England, the Fadden government lost a confidence motion and was replaced by an ALP minority government. The new prime minister [[John Curtin]] nonetheless allowed Page to take up the position, declining his offer to return to Australia.{{sfn|Wilks|2017|p=260}} The [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] in December changed the dynamic of Anglo-Australian relations, as the [[War in the Pacific]] became the primary concern of the Australian government. Page assisted in the creation of the [[Pacific War Council]] early the following year. He later recalled [[Winston Churchill]]'s frustration in war cabinet meetings with Curtin's decision to withdraw troops from the Middle East and North Africa and return them to Australia. He credited himself with helping negate the tensions between the two men, but in February 1942 mistakenly advised Churchill that the Australian government was amenable to diverting the [[7th Division (Australia)|7th Division]] to Burma rather than return it directly to Australia. He was heavily rebuked by Curtin and external affairs minister [[Herbert Evatt]] for his error.{{sfn|Wilks|2017|p=261}}

Page spent the remaining years of the [[Curtin Government|Curtin]] and [[Chifley Government|Chifley]] governments on the opposition backbench.<ref name=naainop>{{cite web|title=Earle Page, In Opposition 1941–49|work=Australia's Prime Ministers|publisher=[[National Archives of Australia]]|url=http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/primeministers/page/after-office.aspx#section3|access-date=19 March 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100718002452/http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/primeministers/page/after-office.aspx#section3|archive-date=18 July 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> He served on the [[Advisory War Council]] and was a delegate to the constitutional convention in Canberra in late 1942, which included members of all major political parties. However, he was frustrated by the government's failure to offer him any formal role in developing post-war policy, which he believed was due to him given his past work.{{sfn|Wilks|2017|p=271, 274}} Page's brother [[Harold Page|Harold]] and nephew [[Robert Page (soldier)|Robert]] were killed by the Japanese during the war.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/page-harold-hillis-7942|title= Page, Harold Hillis (1888–1942)|first=A. J. |last=Sweeting|year=1988|volume=11|work=[[Australian Dictionary of Biography]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/page-robert-charles-11328|title=Page, Robert Charles (1920–1945)|first=Shirley|last=Lithgow|work=[[Australian Dictionary of Biography]]|year=2000|volume=15}}</ref>

Page sought a 17th term in parliament at the [[1961 Australian federal election|1961 election]], having joined Billy Hughes two years earlier as only the second person to serve over 40 years in federal parliament. Two weeks before the election, he experienced stomach pains while visiting the home of [[Ian Robinson (Australian politician)|Ian Robinson]] near [[Coraki]]. His health then dramatically declined and he was admitted to the [[Royal Prince Alfred Hospital]] in Sydney. He was diagnosed with bowel cancer and underwent immediate surgery.<ref>{{cite book |last=Davey |first=Paul |date=2010 |title=Ninety Not Out: The Nationals 1920-2010 |publisher=[[UNSW Press]]|page=2 |isbn=978-1742231662 }}</ref> He had been gravely ill even before being admitted to hospital and was too sick to campaign nearly as actively as he had campaigned in the previous four decades. He fought the election anyway, though he scarcely appeared on the hustings.<ref name=adb/>

Page's defeat/death saw the Australian Federal Parliament having no former prime ministers among its members for the first time since the period between Sir Joseph Cook's resignation from Parliament in 1921 to become [[Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom]] and Page forcing Billy Hughes' resignation as prime minister in 1923.

Page married [[Ethel Page|Ethel Blunt]] on 18 September 1906. They had met at [[Royal Prince Alfred Hospital]] while he was undertaking his medical residency; she was a senior nurse there. Page soon began courting her, and convinced her to become the matron of his new hospital in Grafton. She gave up nursing after their marriage, but was active in politics and community organisations. The couple had five children: Mary (b. 1909), Earle Jr. (b. 1910), Donald (b. 1912), Iven (b. 1914), and Douglas (b. 1916). Their grandchildren include [[Don Page (politician)|Don Page]], who was active in New South Wales state politics including a stint as Deputy Leader of the New South Wales Nationals, and [[Geoff Page]], a poet.<ref name=ethel>[http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/primeministers/page/spouse.aspx Australia's PMs > Earle Page > Ethel Page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180313153029/http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/primeministers/page/spouse.aspx |date=13 March 2018 }}, National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 29 January 2017.</ref>

Page was predeceased by his first wife and his oldest son. Earle Jr., a qualified veterinarian, was killed by a lightning strike in January 1933, aged 22.<ref>[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/192160725 STRUCK BY LIGHTNING] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130013732/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/192160725 |date=30 January 2018 }}, ''[[The Daily Examiner]]'', 16 January 1933.</ref> Ethel died in May 1958, aged 82, after a long illness.<ref>[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/136298073 Death Of Lady Page After Long Illness] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180123072318/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/136298073 |date=23 January 2018 }}, ''[[Canberra Times]]'', 27 May 1958.</ref> {{Anchor|Jean Page}}On 20 July 1959 at [[St Paul's Cathedral, London]], Page married for a second time, wedding his long-serving secretary Jean Thomas (32 years his junior). [[Stanley Bruce]] was his best man.<ref name=adb/> The second Lady Page lived for almost 50 years after her husband's death, dying on 20 June 2011; her ashes were interred at [[Northern Suburbs Crematorium, Sydney|Northern Suburbs Crematorium]].<ref>''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 9 July 2011 {{Page needed|date=November 2014}}</ref>

* [[Division of Page]] – division of the federal House of Representatives; established in 1984, includes the city of Grafton<ref>{{cite web |title=Profile of the electoral division of Page (NSW) |url=https://www.aec.gov.au/profiles/nsw/page.htm |website=Australian Electoral Commission |access-date=7 August 2020 |language=en-AU}}</ref><ref name="DailyEx20170214">{{cite news |last1=North |first1=Bill |title=Historic home goes under the hammer |url=https://www.dailyexaminer.com.au/news/historic-home-goes-under-the-hammer/3143416/ |newspaper=Daily Examiner |access-date=7 August 2020 |language=en |date=14 February 2017}}</ref>

* [[Earle Page College]] – residential college of the University of New England; opened in 1963<ref name="DailyEx20170214"/><ref>{{cite web |title=EPC Past and Present |url=https://www.une.edu.au/campus-life/une-accommodation/colleges/earle-page/heritage |website=[[University of New England (Australia)|University of New England]]|access-date=7 August 2020 |language=en-AU}}</ref>

* Page Research Centre – think tank associated with the National Party of Australia; established in 2003<ref>{{cite web |title=Sir Earle Page |url=https://www.page.org.au/about/sir-earle-page/ |website=Page Research Centre |access-date=7 August 2020 |language=en-AU}}</ref>