{{short description|Prime minister of New Zealand from 1912 to 1925}} {{other people|William Massey}} {{Use New Zealand English|date=November 2024}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}} {{Infobox officeholder |honorific_prefix = The Right Honourable |name = William Ferguson Massey |honorific_suffix = |image = William Ferguson Massey 1919.jpg |caption = Massey in 1919 |office = 19th Prime Minister of New Zealand |monarch = George V |governor-general = John Dickson-Poynder<br>Arthur Foljambe<br>John Jellicoe<br>Charles Fergusson |term_start = 10 July 1912 |term_end = 10 May 1925 |predecessor = Thomas Mackenzie |successor = Sir Francis Bell |office2 = 5th Leader of the Opposition |term_start2 = 11 September 1903 |term_end2 = 10 July 1912 |deputy2 = James Allen |predecessor2 = William Russell |successor2 = Joseph Ward |constituency_MP7 = Franklin |parliament7 = New Zealand |term_start7 = 4 December 1896 |term_end7 = 10 May 1925 |predecessor7 = Benjamin Harris |successor7 = Ewen McLennan |birth_date = {{birth date|1856|3|26|df=y}} |birth_place = Limavady, County Londonderry, Ireland, UK |death_date = {{death date and age|1925|5|10|1856|3|26|df=y}} |death_place = Wellington, New Zealand |spouse = {{marriage|Christina Allan Paul|1882}} |relatives = Stan Goosman (nephew) |children = 7, including Walter and Jack |party = Reform (from 1909) }} '''William Ferguson Massey''' {{post-nominals|country=NZL|PC|size=85%}} (26 March 1856 – 10 May 1925) was a politician who served as the 19th prime minister of New Zealand from May 1912 to May 1925. He was the founding leader of the Reform Party, New Zealand's second organised political party, from 1909 until his death.
Massey was born in County Londonderry in Ireland. After migrating to New Zealand in 1870, Massey farmed near Auckland (earning his later nickname, ''Farmer Bill'') and assumed leadership in farmers' organisations. He entered parliament in 1894 as a conservative, and from 1894 to 1912 was a leader of the conservative opposition to the Liberal ministries of Richard Seddon and Joseph Ward. Massey became the first Reform Party Prime Minister after he led a successful motion of no confidence against the Liberal government. Throughout his political career, Massey was known for the particular support he showed for agrarian interests, as well as his opposition to organised labour. He pledged New Zealand's support for Britain during the First World War.
Massey led his Reform Party through four elections, although only the 1919 election was a decisive victory over all other parties. Following increasingly poor health in his fourth term, Massey died in office. After Richard Seddon, he is the second-longest-serving prime minister of New Zealand.
A state funeral for Massey was held on 14 May 1925, followed by a burial at Point Halswell, at a site that became the Massey memorial in 1930.<ref>{{cite web |title=Massey Memorial |url=https://www.heritage.org.nz/list-details/222/Listing |website=Heritage New Zealand, Historic Place Category 1 |publisher=Heritage New Zealand - Pouhere Taonga |access-date=4 October 2025}}</ref>
==Early life== Massey was born in 1856 into a Protestant farming family, and grew up in Limavady, County Londonderry, Ireland. His father John Massey and his mother Marianne (or Mary Anne, née Ferguson) were tenant farmers who also owned a small property. His family arrived in New Zealand on 21 October 1862 on board the ''Indian Empire''<ref>{{cite news |title=Port of Onehunga |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=DSC18621021.2.3.2 |work=Daily Southern Cross |volume=XVIII |issue=1638 |date=21 October 1862 |page=2}}</ref> as Nonconformist settlers,<ref>1911 Encyclopædia Britannica</ref> although Massey remained in Ireland for a further eight years to complete his education. He resided for a time with his grandmother Elizabeth Ferguson (née Barnett) at her home at Kennaught, Limavady, attending Limavady National School. Subsequently, Massey went to live with his uncle Matthew Ferguson at Sheephill, Ballykelly and from there he went to school in Derry.<ref>Obituary William Ferguson Massey Londonderry Sentinel 12 May 1925</ref> After arriving on 10 December 1870 on the ''City of Auckland'', Massey worked as a farmhand for some years before acquiring his own farm in Māngere, South Auckland, in 1876.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/templates/article.jsp?articleid=34921&back=&version=2006-10 |title=Oxford DNB |publisher=Oxford DNB |date=10 May 1925 |access-date=29 March 2016}}</ref> In 1882 he married his neighbour's daughter, Christina Allan Paul. They had seven children.<ref name="DNZB Massey">{{DNZB|Gustafson|Barry|2m39|Massey, William Ferguson|10 December 2011||Barry Gustafson}}</ref>
==Early political career== Massey gradually became more prominent in his community. This was partly due to his civic involvement in the school board, the debating society and farming associations. Because of his prominence in these circles, he became involved in political debate, working on behalf of rural conservatives against the Liberal Party government of John Ballance. {{Citation needed|date=December 2010}} Massey was a member of the Orange Order, Oddfellows, and Freemasons,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/2m39/massey-william-ferguson |title=Massey, William Ferguson – Biography – Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand |website=Teara.govt.nz |access-date=29 March 2016}}</ref> and espoused British Israelite ideas.<ref> {{cite book | last1 = Reynolds | first1 = David | author-link1 = David Reynolds (British historian) | title = The Long Shadow: The Legacies of the Great War in the Twentieth Century | date = 12 May 2014 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=r1KAAwAAQBAJ | publisher = W. W. Norton & Company | publication-date = 2014 | page = 108 | isbn = 9780393088632 | access-date = 18 January 2016 | quote = Massey's British Israelite philosophy was extreme, not to say eccentric[...]. }} </ref>
In {{NZ election link year|1893}} Massey stood as a candidate in the general election in the {{NZ electorate link|Franklin}} electorate, losing to the Liberal candidate, Benjamin Harris.<ref name="DNZB Massey" /> In early 1894 he was invited to contest a by-election in the neighbouring electorate of Waitemata, and was victorious. In the 1896 election he stood for the Franklin electorate, which he represented until he died in 1925.<ref name=Scholefield>{{cite book |last= Scholefield |first= Guy |title= New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1949 |author-link=Guy Scholefield |edition=3rd |orig-year= First ed. published 1913 |year= 1950 |publisher=Govt. Printer |location= Wellington| page=126}}</ref>
==Opposition== {{NZ parlbox header|nolist=true|align=left}} {{NZ parlbox |electorate=Waitemata |start={{By-election link year|Waitemata|1894}} |end=1896|party=Conservative (New Zealand)|term=12th}} {{NZ parlbox|electorate=Franklin|start={{NZ election link year|1896}}|end=1899|party=Conservative (New Zealand)|term=13th}} {{NZ parlbox|electorate=Franklin|start={{NZ election link year|1899}}|end=1902|party=Conservative (New Zealand)|term=14th}} {{NZ parlbox|electorate=Franklin|start={{NZ election link year|1902}}|end=1905|party=Conservative (New Zealand)|term=15th}} {{NZ parlbox|electorate=Franklin|start={{NZ election link year|1905}}|end=1908|party=Conservative (New Zealand)|term=16th}} {{NZ parlbox|electorate=Franklin|start={{NZ election link year|1908}}|end=1909|party=Conservative (New Zealand)|term=17th}} {{NZ parlbox allegiance |start=1909 |end=1911 |party=Reform Party (New Zealand) }} {{NZ parlbox|electorate=Franklin|start={{NZ election link year|1911}}|end=1914|party=Reform Party (New Zealand)|term=18th}} {{NZ parlbox|electorate=Franklin|start={{NZ election link year|1914}}|end=1919|party=Reform Party (New Zealand)|term=19th}} {{NZ parlbox|electorate=Franklin|start={{NZ election link year|1919}}|end=1922|party=Reform Party (New Zealand)|term=20th}} {{NZ parlbox|electorate=Franklin|start={{NZ election link year|1922}}|end=1925|party=Reform Party (New Zealand)|term=21st}} {{End}}
Massey joined the ranks of the (mostly conservative) independent MPs opposing the Liberal Party, led by Richard Seddon. They were poorly organised and dispirited, and had little chance of unseating the Liberals. William Russell, the Leader of the Opposition, was able to command only 15 votes. Massey brought increased vigour to the conservative faction and became opposition whip.{{sfn|Wilson|1985|p=279}}
By June 1900, following a heavy defeat at the 1899 general election, the opposition strength fell considerably. The conservative MPs could not agree on a new leader after holding their first caucus of the session. For over two years the conservatives were virtually leaderless and many despaired of ever toppling the Liberal Party. Massey, as chief whip, informally filled the role as leader and eventually succeeded Russell as Leader of the Opposition formally in September 1903.{{sfn|Wilson|1985|p=282}}
As leader, the conservatives rallied for a time, though support for the Liberals increased markedly during the Second Boer War, leaving the conservatives devastated at the 1902 general election. Massey's political career survived the period: despite a challenge by William Herries, he remained the most prominent opponent to the Liberal Party.<ref name="DNZB Massey"/>
After Seddon's death the Liberals were led by Joseph Ward, who proved more vulnerable to Massey's attacks. In particular, Massey made gains by claiming that alleged corruption and cronyism within the civil service was ignored or abetted by the Liberal government. His conservative politics also benefited him when voters grew concerned about militant unionism and the supposed threat of socialism.<ref name="DNZB Massey"/>
===Reform Party=== In February 1909,<ref>{{cite news |title=The Reform Party |url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP19090212.2.97 |access-date=23 March 2016 |work=The Evening Post |volume=LXVVII |issue=36 |date=12 February 1909 |page=8}}</ref> Massey announced the creation of the Reform Party from his New Zealand Political Reform League. The party was to be led by him and backed by his conservative colleagues.
In the 1911 election the Reform Party won more seats than the Liberal Party but did not gain an absolute majority. The Liberals, relying on support from independents who had not joined Reform, were able to stay in power until the following year, when they lost a vote of confidence.
==Prime minister== [[File:Bellamy's cartoon.gif|thumb|right|Massey and James Allen head for Bellamy's to celebrate their assumption of government. ''New Zealand Spectator'', 13 July 1912.]] Massey was sworn in as prime minister on 10 July 1912. Two days later it was reported in the press on 12 July that he had accepted the appointment of Honorary Commandant of the Auckland District of the Legion of Frontiersmen. Some members of the Reform Party grew increasingly frustrated at Massey's dominance of the party. He earned the enmity of many workers with his harsh response to miners' and waterfront workers' strikes in 1912 and 1913. The use of force to deal with the strikers made Massey an object of hatred for the emerging left-wing, but conservatives (many of whom believed that the unions were controlled by the far left) generally supported him, saying that his methods were necessary. His association with the Legion of Frontiersmen assisted him greatly during this period as a number of mounted units, including Levin Troop, rode to Wellington in mufti and assisted as Special Constables. In the Levin Troop was a young Bernard Freyberg, who would shortly earn the Victoria Cross near Beaumont Hamel.
Amongst the first Acts enacted by Massey's government was one that "enabled some 13,000 Crown tenants to purchase their own farms."<ref name="UCred">{{Citation |last=Allen |first=Sam |title=To Ulster's Credit |year=1985 |page=116 |location=Killinchy, UK }}</ref>
===First World War=== {{Cquote|All we are and all we have is at the disposal of the British Government.|20px|20px|Cable from Massey to the British Government, 1914<ref name="UCred"/>}} [[File:William Massey & Joseph Ward arriving in Boulogne, 1918 (19130690381).jpg|thumb|On 29 June 1918, Massey and Ward began a visit to New Zealand troops in France. This photo shows them on their arrival in Boulogne, 1918.]] The outbreak of the First World War diverted attention from these matters. The 1914 election left Massey and his political opponents stalemated in parliament, with neither side possessing enough support to govern effectively. Massey reluctantly invited Joseph Ward of the Liberals to form a war-time coalition, created in 1915. While Massey remained prime minister, Ward gained ''de facto'' status as joint leader. Massey and Ward travelled to Britain several times, both during and after the war, to discuss military co-operation and peace settlements. During his first visit, Massey visited New Zealand troops, listening to their complaints sympathetically. This angered some officials, who believed that Massey undermined the military leadership by conceding (in contrast to the official line) that conditions for the troops were unsatisfactory. The war reinforced Massey's strong belief in the British Empire and New Zealand's links with it. He attended the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 and signed the Treaty of Versailles on behalf of New Zealand.<ref>{{cite web |title=New Zealand Prime Minister signs Treaty of Versailles |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/page/new-zealand-prime-minister-signs-treaty-versailles |publisher=NZHistory |access-date=29 March 2020 |date=30 April 2019}}</ref> Although turning down knighthoods and a peerage, he accepted appointment as a Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) from the King of Belgium in March 1921 and a Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour by the President of France in October 1921.<ref>M. Brewer, 'New Zealand and the Légion d'honneur: Officiers, Commandeurs and Dignites', The Volunteers: The Journal of the New Zealand Military Historical Society, 35(3), March 2010, p.136.</ref>
Massey has also been criticised for his policies regarding phosphate mining in Nauru, with Massey University scholar Matt Wynyard claiming he was "behind its utter devastation".<ref>{{Cite web |title=William Massey was a Racist |url=https://www.massivemagazine.org.nz/articles/william-massey-was-a-racist |access-date=25 August 2023 |website=Massive Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>
====Coalition with the Liberals==== thumb|Massey addressing New Zealand machine gunners at Bois-De-Warnimont, France, 30 June 1918 Partly because of the difficulty in obtaining consensus to implement meaningful policies, the coalition government had grown increasingly unpopular by the end of the war. Massey was particularly worried by the rise of the Labour Party, which was growing increasingly influential. Massey also found himself fighting off criticism from within his own party, including charges that he was ignoring rural concerns. He dissolved the coalition in 1919, and fought both the Liberals and Labour on a platform of patriotism, stability, support for farmers, and a public works programme. He successfully gained a majority.
===The Red Scare===
According to New Zealand historian Tony Wilson, Massey was known for his anti-Bolshevik and anti-Soviet sentiments. He disliked domestic socialist elements like the "Red Feds", the predecessor to the New Zealand Federation of Labour, and the New Zealand Labour Party. As prime minister, Massey was opposed to Communist influence. He regarded the Red Terror (1919–20) in the Soviet Union, which followed the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, as proof of the "inherently oppressive orientation" of socialism. In response to the Red Scare the government passed the War Regulations Continuance Act, which continued wartime emergency regulations including censorship. This led to a ban on Communist-oriented literature, which continued to 1935.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wilson |first=Tony|editor-first=Alexander |editor-last=Trapeznik |title=Lenin's Legacy Down Under |publisher=Otago University Press|year=2004|pages=101–02 |chapter=Chapter 6: Defining the Red Menace|isbn=1-877276-90-1}}</ref>
===1922 election=== [[File:William Ferguson Massey by Sir William Orpen.jpg|thumb|upright|Portrait of Massey by Sir William Orpen. Undated.]] Economic problems lessened support for Reform. In the 1922 election Massey lost his majority, and was forced to negotiate with independents to keep his government alive. He was also alarmed by the success of Labour, which was now only five seats behind the Liberals. He began to believe that the Liberals would eventually disappear, with their supporters being split, the socially liberal wing to Labour and the economically liberal wing to Reform. He set about trying to ensure that Reform's gain would be the greater.
In 1924 cancer forced him to relinquish many of his official duties, and the following year he died.<ref name="DNZB Massey"/>
==Legacy== The Massey Memorial was erected as his mausoleum in Wellington, paid for mostly by public subscription. Massey University is named after him, the name chosen because the university had a focus on agricultural science, matching Massey's own farming background.<ref name="DNZB Massey"/> The Massey district was named after Massey during his tenure as prime minister and still retains the name.<ref>{{cite LINZ|3261|3261}}</ref>
===Honours=== * {{Flag|France}}: 80px Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour * {{Flag|Belgium}}: Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown
==Family== His widow, Christina, was awarded the GBE in 1926, one year after his death.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dpmc.govt.nz/honours/overview/history.html |title=DPMC – New Zealand Honours: History of Royal Honours |access-date=20 May 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110804214234/http://www.dpmc.govt.nz/honours/overview/history.html |archive-date=4 August 2011 }}</ref>
Two of his sons became Reform MPs: Jack (1885–1964), who represented his father's Franklin electorate from 1928 to 1935, and from 1938 to 1957 for National; and Walter William (1882–1959), who represented Hauraki from 1931 to 1935.
His son Frank George Massey (1887–1975) enlisted in World War I, and transferred to the British Expeditionary Force where he commanded a battalion as a Major.<ref>{{cite book |last= Harper |first= Glyn |title= For King and Other Countries |year= 2019 |publisher=Massey University University Press |location= North Shore, Auckland |isbn= 978-0-9951029-9-6 |page= 112 }}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Bibliography== *{{cite book |last= Wilson |first= Jim | author-link=Jim Wilson (librarian) |title= New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 |edition= 4th |orig-year= First ed. published 1913 |year= 1985 |publisher=V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer |location= Wellington |oclc=154283103}}
==Further reading== {{refbegin}} *{{citation |first = H.J. |last = Constable |title = From ploughboy to premier: a new life of the Right Hon. William Ferguson Massey, P.C |place = London|publisher = John Marlowe Savage & Co. |year = 1925}} *{{citation |first = Bruce |last = Farland |title = Farmer Bill: William Ferguson Massey & the Reform Party |place = Wellington |publisher = First Edition Publishers. |year = 2009}} *{{citation |first = William James |last = Gardner |title = MASSEY, William Ferguson |encyclopedia = An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock | year =1966 |url = http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/1966/M/MasseyWilliamFerguson/en |access-date = 24 April 2008}} * Gardner, William J. "The Rise of W. F. Massey, 1891–1912", ''Political Science'' (March 1961) 13: 3–30; and "W. F. Massey in Power", ''Political Science'' (Sept. 1961), 3–30. *{{citation |first = Barry |last = Gustafson |author-link = Barry Gustafson |title = Massey, William Ferguson 1856–1925 |work= Dictionary of New Zealand Biography |url = http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/default.asp?Find_Quick.asp?PersonEssay=2M39 |access-date = 24 April 2008}} *{{citation |first = D. Christine |last = Massey |title = The life of Rt. Hon. W.F. Massey P.C., L.L.D. : Prime Minister of New Zealand, 1912–1925 |place = Auckland, [N.Z.] |publisher = D.C. Massey |year = 1996}} *{{citation |first = Guy H. |last = Scholefield |title = The Right Honourable William Ferguson Massey, M.P., P.C., Prime Minister of New Zealand, 1912–1925: a personal biography |place = Wellington, [N.Z.] |publisher = Harry H. Tombs |year = 1925}} * Watson, James, and Lachy Paterson, eds. ''A Great New Zealand Prime Minister? Reappraising William Ferguson Massey'' (2010), essays by scholars * Watson, James. ''W.F. Massey: New Zealand'' (2011), short scholarly biography; emphasis on Paris Peace Conference of 1919 [https://www.amazon.com/William-Massey-Zealand-Publishing-Makers-ebook/dp/B00CGNPYCI/ excerpt] {{refend}}
==External links== {{subject bar|auto=y|d=y}} * {{Cite EB1922 |last=Atkinson |first=Arthur Richmond |author-link=Arthur Atkinson (politician, born 1863) |wstitle=Massey, William Ferguson |short=x}} * {{cite TIWW |article=Massey, Right Hon. William Ferguson |page=161 }}
{{S-start}} {{S-gov}} {{S-bef | before = Thomas Mackenzie }} {{S-ttl | title = Prime Minister of New Zealand | years=1912–1925}} {{S-aft | after = Francis Bell }} |- {{s-off}} {{S-bef | before = William Herries}} {{s-ttl | title = Minister of Railways | years=1919–1922}} {{s-aft | after = David Guthrie}} {{s-bef | before = Thomas Wilford}} {{s-ttl | title = Minister of Police|years=1919–1920}} {{s-aft | after = Ernest Lee}} |- {{s-par | nz}} {{s-bef | before = Richard Monk}} {{s-ttl | title = Member of Parliament for Waitemata | years=1894–1896}} {{s-aft | after = Richard Monk }} {{s-bef|before=Benjamin Harris}} {{s-ttl|title=Member of Parliament for Franklin|years=1896–1925}} {{s-aft|after=Ewen McLennan}} {{s-end}}
{{New Zealand prime ministers}} {{NZ Reform Party}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Massey, William}} Category:1856 births Category:1925 deaths Category:Irish Presbyterians Category:Ministers of finance of New Zealand Category:Leaders of political parties in New Zealand Category:Reform Party (New Zealand) MPs Category:People from Limavady Category:20th-century prime ministers of New Zealand Category:New Zealand people of Ulster-Scottish descent Category:Leaders of the opposition (New Zealand) Category:Deaths from cancer in New Zealand <!-- Orders and honours --> Category:Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour Category:Grand Officers of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Category:Political party founders Category:Unsuccessful candidates in the 1893 New Zealand general election Category:Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Category:New Zealand MPs for Auckland electorates Category:New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates Category:Irish Freemasons Category:19th-century New Zealand politicians Category:New Zealand members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Category:British emigrants to New Zealand Category:Ministers of agriculture of New Zealand Category:New Zealand recipients of the Legion of Honour