Editing Earle Page (section)

==Early political involvement==
[[File:Earle Page 1920.jpg|thumb|upright|Page in about 1920]]
Page's medical career brought him considerable wealth, and he began investing in land. He bought several large farming properties in [[South-East Queensland]], including in [[Nerang, Queensland|Nerang]], [[Kandanga, Queensland|Kandanga]], and the [[Numinbah Valley]]; Pages Pinnacle in the Numinbah State Forest is named after him.<ref>{{cite web|title=Pages Pinnacle|url=http://www.goldcoaststories.com.au/pages-pinnacle/|website=Gold Coast Stories|date=28 December 2017|publisher=City of Gold Coast|access-date=27 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180127203256/http://www.goldcoaststories.com.au/pages-pinnacle/|archive-date=27 January 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> His entry into public life came about as a result of his passion for [[hydroelectricity]], which he first observed in New Zealand while attending a medical convention in 1910. He believed that it could be applied to the [[Northern Rivers]] region, which was still mostly unelectrified outside of the major towns. Page was elected to the [[South Grafton, New South Wales|South Grafton Municipal Council]] in 1913, believing his position as an [[alderman]] would be useful in his lobbying efforts. However, his overtures to the state government were rebuffed. In 1915, Page was one of the founders of the [[New England New State Movement|Northern New South Wales Separation League]], which advocated the creation of a new state in the [[New England (New South Wales)|New England]] region. He toured a number of towns to raise awareness of the new movement, but interest waned as a result of the ongoing war. Later that year, he was part of a syndicate that bought ''[[The Daily Examiner]]'', the local newspaper in Grafton.<ref name=adb>{{cite AuDB |first=Carl|last= Bridge|author-link=Carl Bridge|title=Page, Sir Earle Christmas (1880–1961)
|volume=11|year=1988|id2=page-sir-earle-christmas-7941}}</ref>

Page visited a number of hydroelectric sites in North America in 1917, on his way back from military service in France. He was elected mayor of South Grafton in 1918, serving until 1920, and also became the inaugural president of the North Coast Development League. He developed more concrete plans for a hydroelectric project on the [[Clarence River (New South Wales)|Clarence River]], and put forward various other development schemes relating to roads, railways, and ports, all of which served to raise his profile in the local district. Page was elected to the [[Australian House of Representatives]] at the [[1919 Australian federal election|1919 federal election]], defeating the sitting [[Nationalist Party of Australia|Nationalist]] MP, [[John Thomson (Australian politician)|John Thomson]] in the [[Division of Cowper]]. He stood as an independent with the endorsement of the Farmers' and Settlers' Association, and after the election joined the new [[National Party of Australia|Country Party]], along with 10 other MPs from rural seats. Page continued to advocate for hydroelectricity throughout his political career, and many such projects were built in New South Wales. However, the specific scheme he favoured for the Clarence River was never put in place, only the smaller [[Nymboida Power Station]]. Decentralisation also remained a pet project, with Page frequently arguing for New South Wales and Queensland to be divided into smaller states to aid regional development. The movement for New England statehood waned in the 1920s, but re-emerged in the 1950s; a legally binding referendum on the subject was finally held in 1967, after Page's death, but was narrowly defeated in controversial circumstances.<ref name=adb/>