Beloved Gympie hockey pioneer Myrtle Florence Ashton dies aged 97

A Queensland hockey pioneer and mother to one of Australia’s most accomplished umpires has died, leaving behind a near-century long legacy of community love.

Myrtle Florence Ashton, Gympie.

An adored local who lived in the Gympie Region for nearly a century has died, leaving behind an enduring legacy and deep ties to Gympie’s longstanding hockey community.

Myrtle Florence Ashton died on Tuesday morning, July 22 at the age of 97, with the announcement on Facebook by granddaughter Jade sparking an outpour of tributes.

People remembered Ms Ashton for her outstanding community commitment and her nurturing, humorous personality.

Ms Ashton was the mother of Julie Ashton-Lucy, one of Australia’s most successful hockey figures who umpired at numerous Olympics and played at a high level for many years.

Ms Ashton-Lucy said her mother’s involvement with hockey stretched back to the 1930s, when she would ride to Albert Park on a cream truck to watch her three sisters and two brothers play.

Myrtle Ashton (L) delivered the first ever Meals on Wheels in Gympie in April 1971. L-R: Mrs M Ashton, Mrs R Smith and Mrs H McConkey. Picture: Mal Dodt

The rivalry between Coles Creek and Gympie in hockey laid the foundation for the sport in the region, Ms Ashton-Lucy said.

Ms Ashton was there from the very beginning.

“They got charged sixpence each to come onto the field and play, and I was too young to play hockey then,” Ms Ashton told Brisbane Hockey in a 2013 interview.

She never played herself because she was too young, and by the time WWII had gripped the nation, “that was the end,” the Gympie local said.

“You couldn’t get transport in, everybody was kind of called up for the war.”

In the years following WWII, Ms Ashton began coaching the under 10s hockey team at One Mile State School, alongside police sergeant Creedy.

Ms Ashton-Lucy said she “used to follow mum around all the time, and she’d put a hockey stick in my hands by the age of three or four”.

Over the last 34 years of her life, Ms Ashton became part of the furniture at Gympie’s Mount Pleasant Hotel, where she was valued by all, her daughter said.

“She coached for many years, was in so many things like the Wanderers Football Ladies committee, the Empire Hotel Social Club, several hockey groups, and volunteered at many fundraising events,” Ms Ashton-Lucy said.

Ms Ashton also delivered the very first meal for Meals on Wheels in Gympie in April, 1971.

Married at 20 and rearing five children over a period of nearly two decades, Ms Ashton “was very much hands-on with all of us, and she always had a meal on the table by 5pm”, Ms Ashton-Lucy said.

Julie Ashton-Lucy is one of Australia’s most accomplished hockey umpires, and played herself at a high level for many years. She said her passion for the sport, and the support to pursue it, came from her mother Myrtle.

The accomplished umpire and player said when she was a child, her mum used to drop her off and make her run to the nearby tram car for exercise at 5am.

“She would drive behind me, and if I was slowing down she’d tell me to speed up.”

Throughout all her sporting endeavours, Ms Ashton-Lucy said her mother would always drive her, and when international hockey commitments arose, would care for her daughter’s children, often making scones with the eldest and fritas with the youngest.

“She absolutely loved the country lifestyle, and loved entertaining my girls, they had a very special bond with their nan,” Ms Ashton-Lucy said.

Over the last 34 years of her life, Ms Ashton became part of the furniture at Gympie’s Mount Pleasant Hotel, where she was valued by all.

“She had her own spot where she would sit,” Ms Ashton’s granddaughter Jade said.

Myrtle Florence Ashton discussed her involvement in Gympie hockey from its genesis in a 2013 interview by Brisbane Hockey. Picture: briZHockey

“Everyone knew that was Myrtle’s spot and no one would sit there.

“She was a regular at the Mt Pleasant raffles and social events every weekend.”

Ms Ashton-Lucy said her mother was a “social butterfly, with a big heart, and up until her last days she had a very good sense of humour”.

“She cared for all five of her children and her grandchildren,” she said.

The community rallied together to remember Ms Ashton on Facebook, offering words of support for her family.

“Myrtle was a lovely person and brought so much joy to so many people with her beautiful personality, will sadly missed by so many,” Glenn Tierney commented on Jade’s post.

“Wonderful Woman, Wonderful Laugh, Wonderful Life!” Leigh Johnson said.