MasterPage property is always empty in content page

Question

I have a HiddenField on my master page, and its value is set in Page_Load event of the master page. In one of my content pages, I need this value in Page_Load event. So I added <%@ MasterType VirtualPath="~/Site.Master"%> to my content page, and created a property in the master page to read the hidden field's value. But, the Page_Load events seem to be fired in reverse order, that is, first the content page, and then the master page, because my property is always an empty string. Here's the code for my property read method and Page_Load event.

Site = public partial class(System.Web.UI.MasterPage)
  protected 
    method Page_Load(sender : object; e : EventArgs);
  private
    method GetCurrentCenter: String;
  public
    property CurrentCenter: String read GetCurrentCenter;
  end;

method Site.Page_Load(sender : object; e : EventArgs);
begin
  hfCurrentCenter.Value := '1';
end;

method Site.GetCurrentCenter: String;
begin
  Result := hfCurrentCenter.Value;
end;

And here's the Page_Load event in my content page:

method ContentPage.Page_Load(sender : object; e : EventArgs);
var
  Center: DropDownList;
begin
  if Master.CurrentCenter <> '-1' then  // --< Master.CurrentCenter is always an empty string
  begin
    Center := DropDownList(cuWizard.CreateUserStep.ContentTemplateContainer.FindControl("Center"));
    Center.Enabled := False;
  end;
end;

Why is CurrentCenter always an empty string?

Answer 1

I think your problem is related to page lifecycle. if you look at the order of firing of init and load events then you might get your answer.

INIT_EVENTS:
INIT_usercontrols
INIT_MasterPage
INIT_Page

LOAD Events:
Load :Page
Load: MasterPage
Load: UserControl