His other grandfather, James Page, arrived in Grafton in 1855, serving as the town's first schoolmaster and first town clerk. ===Education=== Page began his schooling at Grafton Public School, where he excelled academically.
The family business was a hardware manufacturing firm, which had its origins in a coachbuilding firm established in 1858 by Page's maternal grandfather, Edwin Cox.
Sir Earle Christmas Grafton Page, (8 August 188020 December 1961) was an Australian surgeon and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Australia, holding office for 19 days after the death of Joseph Lyons in 1939.
The coalitions that he established and maintained with Bruce and Lyons have served as a model for all subsequent coalition governments. ==Early life== ===Birth and family background=== Earle Christmas Grafton Page was born in Grafton, New South Wales, on 8 August 1880.
His family could not afford to send him to boarding school, as a result of financial difficulties caused by the banking crisis of 1893.
He won a bursary to attend Sydney Boys High School in 1895, where he passed the university entrance exams, and the following year – aged 15 – began studying a liberal arts course at the University of Sydney.
He graduated at the top of his class in 1901, with the degrees of Bachelor of Medicine (M.B.) and Master of Surgery (Ch.M.). ==Medical career== Page's first professional posting came before he had even been registered as a medical practitioner.
In 1902, he took up a position as a resident at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, serving in a variety of roles including as house surgeon under Robert Scot Skirving.
Page returned to his home town in 1903, taking over a practice in South Grafton.
He and two partners subsequently established a new private hospital, Clarence House Hospital, which opened in 1904 and served both Grafton and the surrounding region. Page was a keen adopter of new technologies.
In 1904, he bought what he claimed was "the first Rover car in Australia", which was powered by kerosene.
His father, born in London, was a successful businessman and a member of the Grafton City Council, serving a single term as mayor in 1908.
He upgraded to an Itala in 1908, and had the chassis enlarged so it could be used as an ambulance.
His entry into public life came about as a result of his passion for [which he first observed in New Zealand while attending a medical convention in 1910.
He soon became involved in local politics, and in 1915 purchased a part-share in The Daily Examiner, a local newspaper.
Page became an inaugural Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (FRACS) in 1927, and in 1942 was made an honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (FRCS). In February 1916, Page enlisted in the Australian Army Medical Corps.
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.
He also helped found a movement for New England statehood. In 1919, Page was elected to federal parliament representing the Division of Cowper.
He was the leader of the Country Party from 1921 to 1939, and was the most influential figure in its early years. Page was born in Grafton, New South Wales.
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 under the new prime minister, Stanley Bruce, serving in that role from 1923 to 1929.
Page became an inaugural Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (FRACS) in 1927, and in 1942 was made an honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (FRCS). In February 1916, Page enlisted in the Australian Army Medical Corps.
In 1928, for instance, he performed an emergency appendectomy on Parker Moloney. ==Early political involvement== Page's medical career brought him considerable wealth, and he began investing in land.
He was subsequently made Treasurer 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).
Sir Earle Christmas Grafton Page, (8 August 188020 December 1961) was an Australian surgeon and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Australia, holding office for 19 days after the death of Joseph Lyons in 1939.
He was the leader of the Country Party from 1921 to 1939, and was the most influential figure in its early years. Page was born in Grafton, New South Wales.
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.
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.
Page became an inaugural Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (FRACS) in 1927, and in 1942 was made an honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (FRCS). In February 1916, Page enlisted in the Australian Army Medical Corps.
Sir Earle Christmas Grafton Page, (8 August 188020 December 1961) was an Australian surgeon and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Australia, holding office for 19 days after the death of Joseph Lyons in 1939.
He retired from cabinet at the age of 76, and died a short time after losing his seat at the 1961 election.
All text is taken from Wikipedia. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License .
Page generated on 2021-08-05