William Grey Ellison-Macartney was born in Dublin in 1852. He was educated at Eton College and Exeter College, Oxford, graduating with an arts degree. From 1885 until 1903, he served as the Member of Parliament for South Antrim, and in 1895, was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty, remaining in that post for five years.
In 1897, he married Ettie Scott, the eldest sister of Robert Falcon Scott. In 1903, he was appointed deputy-master of the Royal Mint, a post he held until 1913, when he became governor of Tasmania. Four years later, he was appointed governor of Western Australia, where he remained until 1920. He was knighted in 1913 and died in 1924.
From the guide to the Sir William Ellison-Macartney collection, 1900-1922, (Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge)
