Macartney was born in Holywood, County Down, Ireland, to parents William Isaac Macartney, who was a former commissioner of police in Ceylon, and his Scottish wife, Henrietta. Educated at Holywood, Enniskillen, Gracehill and Dublin, he worked for four years in Ireland before, along with his brother, the ship's surgeon, arriving in Brisbane aboard the SS Bulimba on 20 March 1883. On his arrival, Macartney is said to have spent a short time as a jackaroo before beginning work with the National Australia Bank, working at Maryborough, Ipswich, Normanton and Townsville until 1885. After 1885, Macartney took up work as an articled clerk for solicitors Thynne & Goertz, being admitted as a solicitor in 1891. When Thynne & Goertz was dissolved in 1893, he became Thynne'sbusiness partner and together developed a strong practice, specializing in commercial matters.
Political career
Macartney's first experience in politics was as a wardsman in the Shire of Ithaca from 1899 until 1903 including being its president in 1900. In that same year, as the Ministerialist candidate, he stood for the state seat of Toowong in a by-election to replace the retiring Thomas Finney. He defeated the Labor candidate, Arthur Lilley, son of the former Queensland Premier, Sir Charles Lilley, by 960 votes to 766. In 1908, Macartney, by now a member of the Opposition, was defeated by Richard Cottell at that year's snap election. The next year, another state election was held, and Macartney, a Kidstonian candidate, won the two-member seat of Brisbane North. In 1911, the member for Toowong, Cottell, suddenly died. Macartney resigned as the member for Brisbane North to stand at the upcoming by-election and defeated the ALP candidate, John Gilday, by 2781 votes to 2163. He held the seat for a further nine years until his retirement from politics in 1920. Macartney was Secretary for Public Lands from 7 February 1911 until 11 December 1912 and served as Leader of the Opposition twice: in 1915 and again from 1918 to 1920. Although a speaker of no more than average ability, and regarded as being overly sensitive to criticism, he chaired several committees and exerted considerable parliamentary power from 1902 onwards. He argued for one vote, one value, took a keen interest in electoral redistributions, and in 1905 introduced legislation against juvenile smoking. From 1915 until his retirement from parliament, Macartney was at loggerheads with the ALP Government, which condemned him as a representative of monopolies and the money power. Premier T. J. Ryan and Macartney bitterly disliked one another. Macartney accused Ryan of having personally profited from legal cases while he was attorney-general. Such was the ALP's overt disdain for Macartney that in 1916, the Government introduced a constitutional bill designed to disqualify solicitors who acted 'for monopoly companies or alien companies' from being members of parliament which became popularly known as the 'Thynne and Macartney disabling bill.'
Later years
After Macartney resigned from Parliament in 1920 due to health issues, he returned to his legal practice. He also became chairman of directors of Swift Australian Co. Pty Ltd and the local board of the National Bank of Australasia Ltd. He was also a director of Finney Isles & Co. Ltd, Queensland Newspapers Pty Ltd and British Traders' Insurance Co. Ltd. He was appointed Agent-General for Queensland in London by the Moore Government in 1929, holding the position for two years.
