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 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. In 1895, Ellison-Macartney was appointed as Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty, holding the post until 1890, when a cabinet reshuffle resulted in the appointment of Liberal Unionist 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 newspaper The News Letter. 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's United Irish League. 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 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 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. In 1914, Ellison-Macartney presided over a constitutional dispute in the Tasmanian House of Assembly.