Ferris Arthur Ashton (21 August 1926 – 29 January 2013) was an Australian

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who represented his country in 8 test matches. Ferris was also a member of the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...

(RAN) during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Club career

Ashton was born in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, and began his rugby league career playing with the Bondi United club at a junior level. In 1950 the burly forward began his senior career with Eastern Suburbs. A loyal clubman, Ashton played 87 matches for Easts in the years (1950–56),http://www.stats.rleague.com/rl/scorers/players/Ferris_Ashton.html captaining the side in many of those years and has now been made a life member of the club. In 1951 he played for

NSW New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a state on the east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south, and South Australia to the west. Its coast borders the Coral and Tasman Seas to the east. T ...

before gaining selection for Australia the following year in the series against New Zealand. Ashton made a stunning debut giving the final pass for three tries. At the years end he was selected for the 1952/53 Kangaroo Tour. On tour he played in twenty-two matches including five tests. His final test appearance was in 1953 when he was Australias' sole try scorer in the side that was defeated by New Zealand.

War service

During the Second World War, Ferris served on board the destroyer and served with the

British Fleet The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from th ...

in the Pacific Ocean. Ferris was also a very good boxer, taught by Major Francis O'Connor, having been undefeated in 19 amateur fights. He beat the best of the U.S. Navy when in Tokyo Harbour after the surrender. After the war, Ferris was on leave getting ready to go back to Japan when he slipped down some stairs, leading to a broken knee.

Representative, coach and family

In July '52 he was selected for the Kangaroo tour and spent the next 8 months in England and France. The boat took 6 weeks to get there and 7 to get back. Ferris made the test team to tour N.Z. in 1953 and played his last test. He is listed on the ''Australian Players Register'' as Kangaroo No.289. Ferris met Patty Brennan, Miss Bondi, in 1946 and married in 1950, Michael was born in 1951. Michelle was born in 1954, Kelly in 1955 and Greg in 1957. In 1953 the American All Stars toured Australia with Ferris partnering Jack Gibson in the second-row for NSW. He Captain-coached the Roosters in 1954 and finishing his career in 1957 when taking a job offer as safety manager for the

Snowy Mountains Scheme The Snowy Mountains Scheme, also known as the Snowy Hydro or the Snowy scheme, is a hydroelectricity and irrigation in Australia, irrigation complex in south-east Australia. Near the border of New South Wales and Victoria (Australia), Victoria, ...

. Ferris moved his family back to Sydney in 1962 settling on the Northern Beaches at

Allambie Heights Allambie Heights is a suburb of Northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 17.5 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Northern Beaches Council. It is part of the Nor ...

Television personality

A former first grade

cricketer Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

with Waverley, Ashton was a wicketkeeper/batsman with 106 not out his highest score. He was a regular on the

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

rugby league television program 'Controversy Corner' with Rex Mossop, Alan Clarkson, Col Pearce and Noel Kelly discussing pertinent Rugby League matters. The show ran for 19 years.

"From early days i was the keenest of Eastern Suburbs fans. Many, many times I sat on the hill at the
sports ground A pitch or a sports ground is an outdoor playing area for various sports. The term ''pitch'' is most commonly used in British English, while the comparable term in Australian English, Australian, American English, American and Canadian English is ...
and SCG and watched Easts in their red, white and blue. When I look back now I'm very, very proud of the fact that I never played with another club. They were my club."

– Ferris Ashton.

Accolades

On 24 October 2000, Ashton was awarded the

Australian Sports Medal The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, off ...

for his rugby league achievements. The Ashton-Collier Medal is awarded to the 'man of the match' on the annual

Anzac Day Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia, New Zealand and Tonga that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and ...

clash between

Sydney Roosters Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club, known as the Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Eastern Suburbs. The club competes in the National Rugby Lea ...

and

St George Illawarra Dragons The St. George Illawarra Dragons are an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League (NRL) since 1999 after a j ...

, and the medal is co-named in the honour of Ferris Ashton and Bill Collier. Ferris Ashton died on 29 January 2013.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashton, Ferris 1926 births 2013 deaths Australian rugby league coaches Australian rugby league players Australia national rugby league team players New South Wales rugby league team players Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Royal Australian Navy personnel of World War II Rugby league players from Sydney Rugby league second-rows Sydney Roosters coaches Sydney Roosters players Sydney Roosters captains 20th-century Australian sportsmen