| The Right Honourable William Ferguson Massey MP |
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| William Massey in 1919 | |
| 19th Prime Minister of New Zealand | |
| In office 10 July 1912 – 10 May 1925 |
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| Monarch | George V |
| Governor General | John Dickson-Poynder Arthur Foljambe John Jellicoe Charles Fergusson |
| Preceded by | Thomas MacKenzie |
| Succeeded by | Francis Bell |
| Constituency | Waitemata, Franklin |
| 5th Leader of the Opposition | |
| In office 11 September 1903 – 10 July 1912 |
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| Preceded by | William Russell |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Ward |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 26 March 1856 Limavady, County Londonderry, Ireland |
| Died | 10 May 1925 (aged 69) Wellington, New Zealand |
| Political party | Reform (None until February 1909) |
| Spouse(s) | Dame Christina Massey GBE (née Christina Allen Paul; died 1932) |
| Children | Walter William Massey John Norman Massey and five others |
| Religion | Presbyterian |
William Ferguson Massey, often known as Bill Massey or "Farmer Bill" (26 March 1856 – 10 May 1925) served as the 19th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1912 to 1925, and was the founder of the Reform Party. He is widely considered to have been one of the more skilled politicians of his time, and was known for the particular support he showed towards rural interests. After Richard Seddon, he is to date the second longest serving Prime Minister in New Zealand's history.
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Massey was born in 1856 into a farming family, and grew up in Limavady, County Londonderry in Ireland. His father John Massey and his mother Marianne (or Mary Anne) Ferguson were tenant farmers who also owned a small property. His family moved to New Zealand in 1869, although Bill Massey himself remained in Ireland for a further year to complete his education. After arriving in New Zealand, Massey worked as a farmhand for some years before acquiring his own farm in 1877. In 1882 Massey married his neighbour's daughter, Christina Allen Paul (died 1932). The couple had seven children.[1]
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.
In 1893, Massey stood as a candidate in the general election, but was unsuccessful, losing to the Liberal candidate. In early 1894, however, Massey was invited to contest a by-election in the neighbouring electorate of Waitemata, and was victorious. But in the 1896 election he stood for the Franklin electorate, which he represented until he died in 1925.[2]
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| Years | Term | Electorate | Party | |
| 1895–1896 | 12th | Waitemata | Independent | |
| 1896–1899 | 13th | Franklin | Independent | |
| 1899–1902 | 14th | Franklin | Independent | |
| 1902–1905 | 15th | Franklin | Independent | |
| 1905–1908 | 16th | Franklin | Independent | |
| 1908–1909 | 17th | Franklin | Independent | |
| 1909–1911 | Changed allegiance to: | Reform | ||
| 1911–1914 | 18th | Franklin | Reform | |
| 1914–1919 | 19th | Franklin | Reform | |
| 1919–1922 | 20th | Franklin | Reform | |
| 1922–1925 | 21st | Franklin | Reform | |
Massey joined the ranks of the (mostly conservative) independent MPs opposing the Liberal Party (which was by then led by Richard Seddon). These opposition MPs, however, were poorly organized and dispirited, and had little chance of unseating the Liberals. William Russell, official Leader of the Opposition, was able to command only fifteen votes. Massey brought increased vigour to the conservative faction.
While the conservatives did rally for a time, support for the Liberals increased markedly during the Second Boer War, leaving the conservatives devastated. Massey's political career, however, survived the period. Despite a challenge by William Herries, Massey remained the most prominent opponent to the Liberal Party.
After Seddon's death, the Liberals came to be 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.
In 1909, Massey announced the creation of the Reform Party from his New Zealand Political Reform League. The party was to be led by himself and backed by his conservative colleagues.
In the 1911 elections, the Reform Party managed to gain 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 no confidence.
Massey was sworn in as Prime Minister on 10 July 1912. Two days later it was reported in the press on the 12 July that he had accepted the appointment of Honorary Commandant of the Auckland District of the Legion of Frontiersmen . As time passed, however, some members of the Reform party grew increasingly frustrated at Massey's dominance of the party. He also 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. However, conservatives (many of whom believed that the unions were controlled by socialists and communists) generally supported Massey, 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. Amongst the men of Levin Troop was a young Bernhard Freyberg who would shortly earn the Victoria Cross near Beaumont Hamel.
Amongst the first Acts enacted by Massey's government was one which "enabled some 13,000 Crown tenants to purchase their own farms."[3]
| “ | All we are and all we have is at the disposal of the British Government. | ” |
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—Cable from William Massey to the British Government, 1914[3] |
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The outbreak of the First World War, however, 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. As such, 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 the United Kingdom several times, both during and after the war, to discuss military cooperation 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 undermine the military leadership by conceding (in contrast to the official line) that conditions for the troops were indeed unsatisfactory. The war did, however, reinforce Massey's strong belief in the British Empire and New Zealand's links with it. Massey attended the Peace Conference in 1919 and signed the Treaty of Versailles on behalf of the dominion of New Zealand. Although turning down knighthoods and a peerage Massey accepted appointment as a Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) from King of Belgium in March 1921 and a Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour by the President of France in October 1921.[4]
The coalition government, partly because of the difficulty in obtaining enough consensus to implement meaningful policies, 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 program. He successfully gained a working majority.
Economic problems, however, lessened support for Reform. In the 1922 elections, 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 between Reform and Labour - the socially liberal wing to Labour and the economically liberal wing to Reform. Massey set about trying to ensure that Reform's gain would be the greater.
In 1924, however, illness forced Massey to relinquish many of his official duties. The following year, he died of his illness. The Massey Memorial was erected as his mausoleum in Wellington, paid for mostly by public subscription. Massey University is also named after him - the name was chosen because the university initially had a focus on agricultural science, matching Massey's own farming background.
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