William Ellison-Macartney

Sir William Grey Ellison-Macartney, (7 June 1852 – 4 December 1924) was a British politician, who also served as the Governor of the Australian states of Tasmania and Western Australia.

Early life

Born as William Grey Ellison in Dublin, Ireland, he was the son of John William Ellison, the Conservative Member of Parliament 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.

Ellison-Macartney was educated at Eton College and Exeter College, Oxford, taking an early interest in law and politics, and was called to the Bar in 1878. He was an ardent supporter of Irish Unionism, and became grand secretary of the Orange Institution in Ireland.

Political career

At the 1885 UK general election, Ellison-Macartney ran for the House of Commons, and was elected as Conservative 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. He retired from politics in early February 1903, after being offered several government appointments. serving to 1913,

Governor of Tasmania

In December 1912, Ellison-Macartney was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG), and appointed Governor of the Australian state of Tasmania. There was considerable concern over his appointment from Irish nationalists, who felt that Ellison-Macartney's Unionist political background may cause offence to Tasmanians who supported Irish Home Rule. 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. 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, and they had three children: daughters Phoebe (b.1898) and Mildred (b.1900) and a younger son John; Phoebe died in 1918, aged 20, as a result of a riding accident while the family lived were living in Perth, Australia. Ettie was the sister of Robert Falcon Scott, the Antarctic explorer.