Massey, William Ferguson (1856-1925), was a farmer who served as prime minister of New Zealand from 1912 to 1925. Massey formed and led the Reform Party. The party was a conservative group that opposed New Zealand’s Liberal Party. Massey led New Zealand during the difficult years of World War I (1914-1918). He was New Zealand’s second longest-serving prime minister. Only Richard Seddon held office longer.
Early life
Childhood and move to New Zealand.
William Ferguson Massey was born in Limavady, in what is now Northern Ireland, on March 26, 1856. His parents were John Massey, a farmer, and Mary Anne Ferguson Massey. 
At the time of William’s birth, New Zealand was a British colony divided into six provinces. To attract settlers, the Auckland Provincial Council offered parcels of land to settlers who paid for their own passage to New Zealand. In 1869, Massey’s father accepted such an offer. The family then moved to Kaipara, north of Auckland, in New Zealand’s North Island. John was unhappy with the land, and he soon leased farmland in Tāmaki, in the Auckland area.
William stayed in Ireland to continue his education for another year. He then joined the family in New Zealand in December 1870. He learned farming from his father, and he worked for several years on a station (ranch) near Ashburton in the South Island. In the late 1870’s, he established his own farm in the Auckland suburb of Mangere.
Marriage and family.
Massey married Christina Allen Paul (1863-1932), the daughter of a neighboring farmer, on April 5, 1882. The couple’s seven children included three boys: Walter, John, and Frank; and two girls: Elsie and Isabel. The other two children died in infancy. John and Walter would go on to serve in New Zealand’s Parliament. Christina would later become widely known for her charitable work.
Early political career
Entry into politics.
William Massey first became politically active in the early 1890’s through his involvement with local farming organizations. He served as chairman of the Mangere Farmers’ Club and as president of the Auckland Agricultural and Pastoral Association. In 1891, he was selected to serve as the vice president of the National Association of New Zealand. The association was a conservative political alliance that opposed Prime Minister John Ballance and his Liberal Party.
Massey failed to win a seat in Parliament in a November 1893 general election. However, in a by-election (special election) on April 9, 1894, he was elected to represent Waitemata in the House of Representatives. The House was one of the two chambers of New Zealand’s Parliament. In the general election held on Dec. 4, 1896, Massey won the Franklin seat in the House. He kept this seat for the rest of his life.
Opposition politician.
In 1896, Massey was appointed assistant leader of the opposition. At the time, the opposition was a loose grouping of conservative politicians. The Liberal Party’s Richard Seddon was popular as prime minister, and conservatives held only a small number of parliamentary seats. The opposition movement effectively dissolved within a few years.
In the early 1900’s, conservatives renewed their efforts to form a unified force in Parliament. On Sept. 9, 1903, the opposition members elected Massey as their leader.
Seddon died in June 1906, and Seddon’s deputy, Sir Joseph Ward, became prime minister the following month. The 1908 general election kept the Liberals in power, though the Massey-led opposition increased its number of seats in the House.
Massey continued to push for a unified opposition to the Liberal Party. In February 1909, he announced the creation of the Reform Party, which he would head. One of the Reform Party’s main issues was the support of the freehold—that is, the ability of farmers to buy land, rather than lease it from the government. Massey used this issue to gain support from his fellow farmers.
Prime minister
Becoming prime minister.
The Reform Party gained popularity. In the December 1911 election, it won 36 House seats—the most seats of any party, but not a majority. Ward still had enough support from the Liberals and a few other members to remain prime minister, but his support in Parliament had become shaky. In March 1912, Ward stepped down as prime minister. Ward hoped that his successor, Thomas Mackenzie, would draw more support. In July, however, Mackenzie’s government faced a vote of no confidence. In such a vote, Parliament decides whether to support a matter of importance to the prime minister’s program. Mackenzie’s government lost the vote, and Mackenzie resigned. Massey became prime minister on July 10.
Domestic policies.
Soon after becoming prime minister, Massey faced some of the worst labor disputes in New Zealand’s history. Massey refused to negotiate with the striking workers. Instead, he sent a special police force to stop the strikes. These policemen became known as “Massey’s Cossacks.” The nickname refers to a famous group of Russian and Ukrainian cavalry known for their horsemanship and military skill, and also for their fierceness.
Massey’s government passed legislation giving people who leased their land from the government the choice of making their land freehold. Massey also created an independent commission to appoint and promote government employees. He intended the move to prevent religious discrimination and to keep politicians from giving government jobs to their friends and supporters.
World War I
broke out in August 1914. In 1907, New Zealand had become a dominion (self-governing country) within the British Empire. Massey believed it was New Zealand’s duty to support the empire in the fight against Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the other Central Powers. Massey also wanted New Zealand to have input on the direction of the war. He traveled to the United Kingdom a number of times for meetings with other Allied heads of state.
The Reform Party remained in power following a general election in December 1914. However, Massey did not have a clear parliamentary majority. Following an example set by the United Kingdom, Massey invited other parties in Parliament to form a coalition (partnership) government. The Reform Party and the Liberals formed a National Government in August 1915. It included Massey as prime minister and Ward as minister of finance and unofficial co-leader. This coalition was also known as the war cabinet, a group of officials to determine policy during wartime.
New Zealand sent about 100,000 soldiers overseas during World War I. These troops, along with those of Australia, became known as Anzacs. The name originated with the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) that fought in the 1915 campaign against the Ottoman Empire on the Gallipoli Peninsula in what is now Turkey. The Ottoman Empire had entered the war in October 1914 on the side of the Central Powers. The ANZAC forces fought with courage at Gallipoli, but the Ottoman defense held firm. See ANZAC.
Fighting ended in 1918. The Ottoman Empire signed an armistice (agreement to stop fighting) in October, and Austria-Hungary and Germany agreed to armistices in November. Massey left for Paris in December to take part in the Paris Peace Conference. At the conference, representatives from 32 countries drafted treaties to officially end World War I. Massey was among those who signed the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919. In August, Ward withdrew the Liberals from Massey’s government. See Versailles, Treaty of.
Economic challenges.
The Reform Party won a majority of the seats in Parliament for the first time in 1919. However, postwar economic changes caused world prices for New Zealand’s exports to drop in the early 1920’s. New Zealand soon entered a recession. Massey’s government faced growing criticism, but it remained in power following general elections in 1922.
During the 1920’s, Massey introduced a number of policies aimed at ending the recession. His government cut taxes for farmers and others. It also established control boards to monitor the export prices of meat and dairy products. In addition, Massey extended pension benefits for widows and elderly people, and created pensions for blind people.
Death.
Massey’s health began to decline in the early 1920’s. In March 1925, he underwent surgery for cancer. The surgery was unsuccessful, and Massey died in his Wellington home on May 10.
Following Massey’s death, his close friend Sir Francis Henry Dillon Bell briefly served as prime minister. Bell made it clear that he intended to serve only until the Reform Party elected a leader to replace Massey. The party soon chose Joseph Gordon Coates to serve as its new head and as prime minister. In November 1925, Reform won 56 seats, its largest victory ever, in parliamentary elections. Many observers credited the victory in part to the reforms and legacy of William Massey.
In 1926, Massey’s wife, Christina, became the first woman from New Zealand to be knighted dame grand cross of the Order of the British Empire. She had become a commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1918. These distinctions honored her charitable activities. During World War I, she had worked with the families of soldiers killed in the war and with soldiers on leave in New Zealand. In 1918, she had helped organize emergency services for people sickened during an influenza epidemic.
The Massey Memorial, overlooking Wellington harbor, is the burial site for both Prime Minister Massey and his wife. The white-columned memorial was completed in 1930.
