Earle Christmas Grafton Page GCMG (1880 - 1961)

Born 8 Aug 1880 in Grafton, New South Wales (Australia)

Ancestors

Husband of Ethel Esther (Blunt) Page — married 18 Sep 1906 (to 26 May 1958) in Ashfield, New South Wales, Australia

Husband of Jean (Thomas) Page — married 20 Jul 1959 (to 20 Dec 1961) in London, England, United Kingdom

Died 20 Dec 1961 at age 81 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

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Biography

Earle Page GCMG is Notable.

The Rt Hon Sir Earle Page, PC, GCMG, CH, FRCS, was a member of Federal Parliament for 42 years (1919-61), making him the third longest serving member. He became the second leader of the Country Party in 1921, serving for 18 years. He served as Treasurer (1923-9), Minister for Commerce (1932-9, 40-1) and Minister for Health (1949-56). He held the office of Prime Minister of Australia for 19 days, the second-shortest period of time on record.^[1]

Earle Christmas Grafton Page was born in Grafton, New South Wales on 8 August 1880, fifth of eleven children of London-born Charles Page, blacksmith and coachbuilder, and his Tasmanian wife Mary Johanna Hadden, née Cox. Harold Hillis and Rodger Clarence George Page were brothers. Encouraged by his mother, Page excelled at Grafton Public School and won scholarships to Sydney Boys' High School and the University of Sydney (M.B., Ch.M., 1902). The money was essential as his father had landed himself in acute and lasting financial difficulties in the 1890s depression. Page entered university at 15 and after a year of arts enrolled in medicine and eventually topped the final year.

After working as a house surgeon at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital he returned to Grafton in 1903, where he built up an extensive country practice and opened a progressive private hospital.

Page married Ethel Blunt in 1906,^[2] and they had five children. Page moved into different areas of business, buying a timber mill and dairy farms, and part-owned the Grafton Daily Examiner. He became a well-known figure in the Farmers and Settlers Association. In 1915 he founded the Northern NSW Separation League, which aimed to achieve separate statehood for the north-eastern region of NSW.

Earle Page enlisted as a surgeon with the Army Medical Corps in 1916 and spent 15 months working in military hospitals in Egypt, England and France. In 1918 he was elected mayor of South Grafton and set up the Nymboida hydro-electric scheme. He was elected to Federal Parliament in 1919 and became leader of the newly estab;ished Country Party in 1921.

Following the death of Joe Lyons in September 1939, he served 19 days as Prime Minister while the dominant United Australia Party chose a new leader, Robert Menzies. Page had been close to Lyons, but disliked Menzies, whom he charged publicly with having been disloyal to Lyons. Page refused to serve under him, and made an extraordinary personal attack on him in the House. His party rebelled and replaced him as leader. He returned to the Ministry the following year to assist the war effort.

Page's grandson, Don Page, was a National MP in the NSW Parliament (1988-2015), serving as Deputy Leader of the NSW Nationals (2003-7) and Minister for Local Government (2011-14). Another grandson, Earle Bailey, was a televsion personality who served a term as a National MP in the Queensland Parliament (1983-86).

DNA

• As at 10 September 2019, no DNA testers are currently shown on this page. If you are a descendant and have had your DNA tested, we encourage you to add your lineage to WIkitree!

• Any descendants who tested at AncestryDNA are encouraged to upload their results to GEDmatch so that they can be compared to other testers.

Please direct any questions about the DNA analysis or any DNA confirmation data to Veronica Williams 21:37, 10 September 2019 (UTC)

Sources

1. ↑ Wikipedia - List of Prime Ministers of Australia by time in office
2. ↑ Marriage notice, SMH, Saturday 20 October 1906
   PAGE—BLUNT. — September 18, at Methodist Church, Ashfield, by Rev. J. Bryant F.R.G.S., with Rev. Roger G. C. Page, brother of bridegroom, assisting Earle Page, M.B., Ch. M., fourth son of Charles Page, Hadden House, Grafton, to Ethel Esther, eldest daughter of the late Frederick Blunt, of Sydney.

• Wikiedia entry on Sir Earle Page
• Australian Dictionary of Biography - Sir Earle Christmas Page
• National Museum of Australia - Earle Page
• Museum of Australian Democracy (Old Parliament House) - Earle Page

Trivia

He delivered Lewis Ellem into this world in 1915.