Later Life and Death
Page was the first Chancellor of the University of New England, which was established in 1954.
Lady (Ethel) Page died in 1958; and on 20 July 1959 Page married his secretary Jean Thomas.
By the 1961 election, Page was gravely ill from lung cancer. Although he was too sick to actively campaign, Page refused to even consider retiring from Parliament and soldiered on for his 17th general election. In one of the great upsets of Australian electoral history, he lost his seat to Labor challenger Frank McGuren, whom he had defeated soundly in 1958. Page had gone into the election holding Cowper with what appeared to be an insurmountable 11-point majority, but McGuren managed to win the seat on a swing of 13 percent. Page had become comatose before the election and never regained consciousness. He died 11 days after the election at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, without ever knowing that he had been defeated.
Page represented Cowper for just four days short of 42 years, making him the longest-serving Australian federal parliamentarian who represented the same seat throughout his career. Only Billy Hughes served in Parliament longer than Page; but Hughes represented four different electorates in New South Wales and Victoria.
His grandson Don Page is currently a National MP in the NSW Parliament and served as Deputy Leader of the NSW Nationals from 2003 to 2007.
His nephew was the war hero Robert Page.
Lady (Jean) Page died on 20 June 2011.
Read more about this topic: Earle Page
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