Walter Massy Greene was born in England on 6 November 1874, and educated at Lynton House College, Witney, Oxford. He came to Australia in 1891 and worked as a farmer in Tasmania and Kyneton, Victoria. Four years later he joined the Bank of New South Wales, working in Kalgoorlie (1895-1901), Sydney and Lismore (1902) before returning to farming. He was the first President of the Tiranea Shire Council (1907-09) and in 1909 joined the Liberal League. 

In 1910, Massy Greene was elected Member for the NSW seat of Richmond in the House of Representatives. He was Government Whip in both the Cook and Hughes administrations (1913-18), and became Assistant Minister in charge of matters relating to price fixing (1918-19), Chairman of the Commonwealth Dairy Produce Pool Committee (1918-21) and a member of the Board of Trade (1918-23). A strong supporter of Hughes, he subsequently held the portfolios of Trade and Customs (1919-21), Health and Defence (1921-23) and acted as Prime Minister in Hughes' absence. He was closely involved in post-war trade negotiations, the establishment of the Tariff Board and the revision of the tariff schedule. An advocate of protectionism, Massy Greene was also a prominent spokesman on banking and finance and, as the first Minister for the new Department of Health, encouraged research into tropical medicine.

Massy Greene may have become Prime Minister if he had not lost his seat at the December 1922 election. Although re-elected the following year as Senator to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Senator E D Millen, he never regained his former prominence in Australian politics. In Lyons' United Australia Party Government, he was appointed Assistant Minister and Assistant Treasurer and was Chairman of the Australian Loan Council (1932-33). Knighted in 1933, he resigned from the Government in October that year but remained a Senator until 1938.

During the Second World War, Massy Greene was Chairman of the Treasury Finance Committee (1939-40), Deputy Chairman of the National Security Capital Issues Advisory Board (1939-41) and a member of the Defence Board of Business Administration (1940-47). In 1940, he led the Australian delegation to the Eastern Group Supply Council in New Delhi.

In his later career, Massy Greene became an outstanding company director of several of Australia's most important enterprises, maintaining his links with government and often representing his companies before the Tariff Board. He was the first Chairman of Associated Pulp and Paper Mills, Burnie, Tasmania (1936-52). His directorships included the Electrolytic Zinc Company, Dunlop Rubber, Yarra Falls Ltd, Barnet Glass Rubber Coy, Felt Textiles of Australia, Bradford Cotton Mills Ltd and Australian Knitting Mills Ltd. He was also a Council member of both the University of Melbourne (1939-49) and the Institute of Public Administration (1944-52).

Sir Walter Massy Greene died in Melbourne on 16 November 1952.


Sources:

Australian Dictionary of Biography, Vol 10 (1891-1909)
Commonwealth Parliamentary Handbook, 8th ed (1935), 19th ed (1975)
Federal Guide 1921

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