Born in Grafton in northern New South Wales to Annie and Charles Page, Earle Christmas Grafton Page studied medicine at the University of Sydney prior to joining a medical practice in his home town in 1902. Page spent the years prior to World War I building his medical, business and political interests around the northern rivers area. He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Forces in early 1916, serving initially as a surgeon on HMAT Ballarat and later with the Australian Army Medical Corps in Egypt, England and France. He was discharged with the rank of Captain in June 1917, having returned to Australia early for financial and family reasons.
He successfully contested the New South Wales federal seat of Cowper in the 1919 general election, as an Independent representing the Farmers and Settlers' Association. He held this seat for 42 years, until defeated at the 1961 general election less than two weeks before his death. He had been unopposed at two previous elections (1929 and 1955).
With ten other members elected on similar platforms Page formed the Country Party in 1920, and became its parliamentary leader the next year. Following the 1922 election Page used Country Party numbers to influence the governing Nationalist Party to replace its leader William Morris Hughes with Stanley Melbourne Bruce, and to accept the Country Party as its partner in a coalition government. Page became Deputy Prime Minister to Bruce and Treasurer in the Bruce-Page Government of 1923-29, a period which coincided with major gains in Commonwealth financial power.
A backbencher during the years of James Scullin's Labor government, and during the first term of Joseph Lyons' United Australia Party (UAP) government, Page again became Deputy Prime Minister after the 1934 election when the UAP needed Country Party support to govern. He served as Minister of Commerce, and later Minister of Health in this coalition government.
When Lyons died in office on 7 April 1939, Page was sworn in as 'caretaker' Prime Minister. He was in office for less than three weeks when succeeded by Menzies, the new UAP leader, on 26 April 1939. Differences between Page and Menzies saw the Country Party excluded from Menzies' First Ministry. Page relinquished the Country Party leadership, although he subsequently served as Minister for Commerce (1940-41) and Minister for Heath (1949-56) in later Menzies Ministries. In the latter portfolio, he introduced a private health insurance system which continued until replaced by Medibank in 1974.
Although Page's term as Prime Minister was brief, he was Acting Prime Minister on several occasions (a consequence of being Deputy Prime Minister). An incisive political strategist, he was a significant figure in the development of early non Labor-Country Party coalition governments. He also held several other important appointments during his long parliamentary career. These included Chairman of the Australian Loan Council (1924-29) and Australian Agricultural Council (1935-39), Chancellor of the University of New England (to 1955, New England University College) (1938-60), Australian representative on the UK War Cabinet (1941-42), coopted member of Australia's War Cabinet and Advisory War Council (1941-45) and Australian representative at the inauguration of the Republic of Pakistan (March 1956).
Page was appointed a Member of the Privy Council in 1929, knighted in 1938 and made a Companion of Honour in 1942. He married his first wife, Ethel Esther Blunt (CP 945), in 1906 and was outlived by his second wife, Jean Thomas (Lady Page), whom he married two years prior to his death in Sydney in 1961. His memoirs (Truant Surgeon, Angus and Robertson, Sydney) were published posthumously in 1963. The Canberra suburb of Page is named after him.
Sources
Bridge, Carl, 'Page, Sir Earle Christmas Grafton' (Australian Dictionary of Biography, 1891-1939, Vol 11)
National Archives of Australia, World War I personal dossier: CRS B2455, ‘Page, E C G’
Page, Sir Earle, Truant Surgeon, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1963
Parliamentary Handbook 1957-1959, 13th ed (1959)
Who's Who in Australia 1959, 16th ed (1959)
Unregistered agencies associated with person
? Jan 1913 - ? Jan 1916: South Grafton Council - Councillor
? Jul 1915 - ? Dec 1925: Northern New South Wales Separation (New State) League - Member
? Jan 1918 - ? Dec 1919: South Grafton Council - Mayor
? Jan 1918 - ? Dec 1919: Farmers and Settlers' Association - Member
? Jan 1929 - 20 Dec 1961: Privy Council - Member
? Apr 1938 - 3 Aug 1955: New England University College – Chairman of Council
4 Aug 1955 - 20 Jun 1960: University of New England - Chancellor
22 Sep 1941 - 17 Aug 1942: United Kingdom War Cabinet and Pacific War Council - Representative of the Australian Government