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Earle Page
Sir Earle Page | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Page c. 1939 | |
| 11th Prime Minister of Australia | |
| In office 7 April 1939 – 26 April 1939 | |
| Monarch | George VI |
| Governor‑General | Lord Gowrie |
| Preceded by | Joseph Lyons |
| Succeeded by | Robert Menzies |
| Leader of the Country Party | |
| In office 5 April 1921 – 13 September 1939 | |
| Deputy | |
| Preceded by | William McWilliams |
| Succeeded by | Archie Cameron |
| Minister for Health | |
| In office 19 December 1949 – 11 January 1956 | |
| Prime Minister | Robert Menzies |
| Preceded by | Nick McKenna |
| Succeeded by | Donald Cameron |
| In office 29 November 1937 – 7 November 1938 | |
| Prime Minister | Joseph Lyons |
| Preceded by | Billy Hughes |
| Succeeded by | Harry Foll |
| Minister for Commerce | |
| In office 28 October 1940 – 7 October 1941 | |
| Prime Minister | |
| Preceded by | Archie Cameron |
| Succeeded by | William Scully |
| In office 9 November 1932 – 26 April 1939 | |
| Prime Minister | Joseph Lyons |
| Preceded by | Frederick Stewart |
| Succeeded by | George McLeay |
| Treasurer of Australia | |
| In office 9 February 1923 – 21 October 1929 | |
| Prime Minister | Stanley Bruce |
| Preceded by | Stanley Bruce |
| Succeeded by | Ted Theodore |
| Father of the House | |
| In office 28 October 1952 – 9 December 1961 | |
| Preceded by | Billy Hughes |
| Succeeded by | Eddie Ward |
| Member of the Australian Parliament for Cowper | |
| In office 13 December 1919 – 9 December 1961 | |
| Preceded by | John Thomson |
| Succeeded by | Frank McGuren |
| Chancellor of the University of New England | |
| In office 8 February 1955 – 1960 | |
| Deputy | Phillip Wright |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Phillip Wright |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Earle Christmas Grafton Page 8 August 1880 Grafton, Colony of New South Wales |
| Died | 20 December 1961 (aged 81) Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia |
| Resting place | St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney |
| Political party | Country |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 5 |
| Relatives | |
| Residence(s) | Grafton, New South Wales, Australia |
| Education |
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| Alma mater | University of Sydney |
| Occupation |
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| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Australia |
| Branch/service | Australian Army |
| Years of service | 1916–17 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | Royal Australian Army Medical Corps |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
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|---|---|---|
Country Party Leadership Elections Term of government (April 1939) Autobiography  |
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Sir Earle Christmas Grafton Page (8 August 1880 – 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 caretaker capacity following the death off Joseph Lyons. He was the leader of the 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 Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, 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 statehood.
In 1919, Page was elected to Federal Parliament representing the Division of Cowper. He joined the new Country Party the following year as its inaugural 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 at the 1922 election, he demanded Hughes' resignation as the price for a coalition with the 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 returned to cabinet after the 1934 election, when the Country Party entered a new coalition with Joseph Lyons' United Australia Party (UAP). He was appointed Minister for Commerce, and concentrated on agricultural issues. When Lyons died in office in April 1939, Page was commissioned as his successor in a caretaker capacity while the UAP elected a new leader, Robert Menzies. Page subsequently denounced Menzies and refused to serve in his cabinet, withdrawing the Country Party from the coalition, but this proved unpopular and he resigned the party leadership after a few months. The coalition was eventually reconstituted, and Page served again as Minister for Commerce under Menzies and Arthur Fadden until the government's defeat in October 1941.
Page's last major role was as Minister for Health (1949–1956) in the post-war Menzies Government. He retired from cabinet at the age of 76, and died a short time after losing his seat at the 1961 election. Page served in parliament for almost 42 years, the 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 all subsequent coalition governments.
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