Sir William Grey Ellison-Macartney, (7 June 1852 – 4 December 1924) was an Irish-born British politician, who also served as the Governor of the Australian states of

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

and

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

Early life

Born as William Grey Ellison in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, he was the son of John William Ellison, the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for Tyrone in the British House of Commons. His father changed the family surname to Ellison-Macartney in 1859, as a condition of an inheritance from a maternal uncle.Sir William Grey Ellison-Macartney 1917–1920
Constitutional Centre of Western Australia. Ellison-Macartney was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

and

Exeter College, Oxford (Let Exeter Flourish) , old_names = ''Stapeldon Hall'' , named_for = Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter , established = , sister_college = Emmanuel College, Cambridge , rector = Sir Richard Trainor ...

, taking an early interest in law and politics, and was called to the

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in 1878.Dictionary of New Ulster Biography of Sir William Grey Ellison-Macartney (1852–1924)
''Dictionary of New Ulster Biography''. He was an ardent supporter of

Irish Unionism Unionism is a political tradition on the island of Ireland that favours political union with Great Britain and professes loyalty to the United Kingdom, British Monarchy of the United Kingdom, Crown and Constitution of the United Kingdom, cons ...

, and became grand secretary of the

Orange Institution The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants, particularly those of Ulster Scots people, Ulster Sco ...

in Ireland.Michael Roe
Macartney, Sir William Grey Ellison (1852–1924)
'' Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 10, Melbourne University Press, 1986, p. 202

Political career

At the 1885 UK general election, Ellison-Macartney ran for the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

, and was elected as

member for the newly created constituency of South Antrim. In January 1886, he convened a meeting which led to the formation of the Irish Unionist Party, for which he served as whip. In 1895, Ellison-Macartney was appointed as

Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty The Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty also known as the Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Board of Admiralty was a position on the Board of Admiralty and a civil officer of the British Royal Navy. It was usually ...

, holding the post until 1890, when a cabinet reshuffle resulted in the appointment of

Liberal Unionist The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a politic ...

H. O. Arnold-Forster. As a consolation, Ellison-Macartney was appointed to the Privy Council. By 1900, Ellison-Macartney's political fortunes had waned: his popularity in his constituency of South Antrim had dropped considerably due to his reluctance to dispense favour upon Antrim during his time as a junior minister, and he was criticised by the

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

newspaper ''

The News Letter The ''News Letter'' is one of Northern Ireland's main daily newspapers, published from Monday to Saturday. It is the world's oldest English-language general daily newspaper still in publication, having first been printed in 1737. The newspape ...

''. Hoping to reassert his place in the loyalist hierarchy, Ellison-Macartney led a "law-and-order" campaign, targeted in particular at the violence and agrarian crime committed by

William O'Brien William O'Brien (2 October 1852 – 25 February 1928) was an Irish nationalist, journalist, agrarian agitator, social revolutionary, politician, party leader, newspaper publisher, author and Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons o ...

United Irish League The United Irish League (UIL) was a nationalist political party in Ireland, launched 23 January 1898 with the motto ''"The Land for the People"''. Its objective to be achieved through agrarian agitation and land reform, compelling larger grazi ...

. He retired from politics in 1903, after being offered several government appointments.

Government postings

Ellison-Macartney was appointed Deputy-Master of the Royal Mint from 1903 to 1913, and

High Sheriff of Antrim The High Sheriff of Antrim is the Sovereign's judicial representative in County Antrim. Initially an office for lifetime, assigned by the Sovereign, the high sheriff became annually appointed from the Provisions of Oxford in 1258. Besides his judi ...

in 1908.

Governor of Tasmania

In December 1912, Ellison-Macartney was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George, and appointed

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the Australian state of

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. There was considerable concern over his appointment from

Irish nationalists Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cu ...

, who felt that Ellison-Macartney's Unionist political background may cause offence to Tasmanians who supported Irish

Home Rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wit ...

. In 1914, Ellison-Macartney presided over a constitutional dispute in the

Tasmanian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Legislative Council or Upper House. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Hobart. The Assembly has 25 m ...

. With the

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...

and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

parties close to deadlock in the parliament, he granted an early election to the Liberal

Premier of Tasmania The premier of Tasmania is the head of the executive government in the Australian state of Tasmania. By convention, the leader of the party or political grouping which has majority support in the House of Assembly is invited by the governor of ...

Albert Solomon Albert Edgar Solomon (7 March 1876 – 5 October 1914) was an Australian politician. He was Premier of Tasmania from 14 June 1912 to 6 April 1914. Solomon graduated B.A. in 1895 and LL.B. in 1897 at the University of Tasmania, and subsequently q ...

. The Liberals gained an extra seat needed to retain power, but lost one in a subsequent by-election. Ellison-Macartney declined Solomon's request for another

dissolution of parliament The dissolution of a legislative assembly is the mandatory simultaneous resignation of all of its members, in anticipation that a successive legislative assembly will reconvene later with possibly different members. In a democracy, the new assemb ...

, and he called upon Labor's John Earle to form government, on the condition that an election be called. With Earle and his ministry sworn in, neither side desired to hold an election so parliament remained in session, with Ellison-Macartney's recommendations over-ridden by the Secretary of State for the Colonies.

Governor of Western Australia

Like Sir Harry Barron before him, and Sir Francis Newdegate after him, Ellison-Macartney was transferred as governor from Tasmania to Western Australia. His term in Western Australia was not a happy one – his critical comments about Tasmanian politicians had made Western Australians wary of his attitude, and he had to deal with the state's post-

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

economic depression and continued objection to his Unionist stance from those supportive of Irish Home Rule. Ellison-Macartney returned to England after a three-year term. He died in

Chelsea, London Chelsea is an affluent area in west London, England, due south-west of Charing Cross by approximately 2.5 miles. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the south-western postal area. Chelsea histori ...

, aged 72.

Freemasonry

Ellison-Macartney was a freemason. He was initiated into the craft on 6 June 1872 in the

Apollo University Lodge Apollo University Lodge No 357 is a Masonic Lodge based at the University of Oxford aimed at past and present members of the university. It was consecrated in 1819, and its members have met continuously since then. University of Oxford Membershi ...

No. 357 the day before his twentieth birthday. In 1877, when he returned to Ireland, he became a member of the Lodge Cappagh No. 350 and then of the Concord Lodge No. 332. Finally, he became a founder of the new Border Lodge No. 482 on 25 April 1889. When he was appointed Governor of Tasmania, he agreed to become Grand Master of the

Grand Lodge A Grand Lodge (or Grand Orient or other similar title) is the overarching governing body of a fraternal or other similarly organized group in a given area, usually a city, state, or country. In Freemasonry A Grand Lodge or Grand Orient is the us ...

of Tasmania and was installed on 19 February 1914. He was also made Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Western Australia during his term as the state's governor. He was also a member of the Apprentice Boys of Derry Parent Club, being initiated on the 12th of August 1877.

Family

Ellison-Macartney was the son of John William Ellison and Elizabeth Phoebe Ellison, née Porter. On 5 August 1897, he married Ettie Myers Scott at

Holcombe, Somerset Holcombe is a small village and civil parish (population 936) in the Mendip local government district of Somerset, England. The parish contains the hamlets of Barlake and Edford. It is within easy commuting distance of both Bristol and Bath. Hi ...

, and she bore him three children: a son and two daughters. Ettie was the sister of

Robert Falcon Scott Captain Robert Falcon Scott, , (6 June 1868 – c. 29 March 1912) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–1904 and the ill-fated ''Terra Nov ...

, the Antarctic explorer.

References

External links

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellison-Macartney, William Grey 1852 births 1924 deaths High Sheriffs of Antrim Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Antrim constituencies (1801–1922) Irish knights Irish Unionist Party MPs Governors of Tasmania Governors of Western Australia Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Politicians from Dublin (city) UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 Australian Freemasons Irish Conservative Party MPs