Rodger Page
Rodger Clarence George Page (17 October 1878 – 2 July 1965) was an Australian missionary and religious leader in Tonga. He was royal chaplain and advisor to Queen Sālote for over 20 years and a long-serving president of the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga, the de facto state church.
Rodger Page | |
|---|---|
| Born | 17 October 1878 Grafton, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | 2 July 1965 (aged 86) Sydney, Australia |
| Resting place | Malaʻe ʻAloa, Nukuʻalofa, Tonga |
| Education | Wesleyan Theological Institution |
| Spouse |
Hannah Morrison
(m. 1912; died 1939) |
| Relatives |
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Page was born in Grafton, New South Wales. He trained for the Methodist ministry in Sydney and was posted to Tonga in 1908. He played a key role in the 1924 reunification of the Methodist churches in Tonga and served as president of the Free Wesleyan Church from 1925 to 1946. As royal chaplain to Sālote, Page was an influential advisor on both personal and political matters and was viewed by some as a power behind the throne. He retired to Sydney but continued to visit Tonga regularly, with his ashes being returned to Tonga after his death for interment in a royal burial ground.