Background
Ashby was born in Devonport on Auckland"s North Shore in 1928, the son of Catherine Adele (née Gozar) and Edward Ashby, and the older brother of Murray Ashby.
Ashby was born in Devonport on Auckland"s North Shore in 1928, the son of Catherine Adele (née Gozar) and Edward Ashby, and the older brother of Murray Ashby.
From 1943 to 1946 Ashby was educated at Mount Albert Grammar School, where he was a prefect, captain of the rowing ream and member of the 1st XV rugby union team
He played senior club rugby for the Grammar Old Boys club He also competed in the men"s coxed four at the 1952 Summer Olympic Games in Helsinki, but did not progress beyond the repechages. He later coached the Mount Albert Grammar rowing squad from 1966 to 1978, and was the manager of the New Zealand rowing team at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal.
Ashby died at his home in the south Auckland suburb of Weymouth in 2015.
Ashby served a term as president of the New Zealand Rowing Association, and was made a life member of both the West End Rowing Club and Rowing New Zealand.