Thomas William Mark Ashby (23 August 1895 – 26 September 1957) was a New Zealand local body administrator and

Mayor of Auckland City The Mayor of Auckland City was the directly elected head of the Auckland City Council, the municipal government of Auckland City, New Zealand. The office existed from 1871 to 2010, when the Auckland City Council and mayoralty was abolished and ...

from 1956 to 1957.

Biography

Born 23 August 1895 in Auckland, Ashby was educated at Te Aroha High School, and at both Victoria and Auckland Universities. He was a solicitor, and served in the Army in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He was Auckland's Town Clerk (providing administration and advice to Auckland City Council) between 1944 and 1955 and was also secretary of the committee for the

1950 British Empire Games The 1950 British Empire Games was the fourth staging of what is now called the Commonwealth Games. It was held in Auckland, New Zealand between 4 and 11 February 1950, after a 12-year gap from the third edition of the games. The main venue was ...

held at Auckland. In the 1951 King's Birthday Honours, Ashby was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for municipal services. In 1953, he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal. Having retired as Town Clerk in 1955, he was elected to the city council, and in November 1956 successfully challenged the sitting mayor

John Luxford John Hector Luxford (28 May 1890 – 8 April 1971) was a New Zealand lawyer and Mayor of Auckland City from 1953 to 1956. Biography Born in Palmerston North, Luxford qualified as a solicitor in 1913 and then during the First World War joined t ...

, for the role. Luxford had claimed wasteful expenditure inside the council in his 1953 campaign, but (though initiating a number of reforms) had not been successful in chairing the council. Ashby died suddenly on 23 September 1957, near the end of his first year in office, aged 62 years, and was replaced by

Keith Buttle Keith Nicholson Buttle (23 November 1900 – 15 December 1973) was a New Zealand businessman and politician. He served as mayor of Auckland City from 1957 to 1959. Biography Born 23 November 1900 in Auckland, Buttle attended Auckland Grammar S ...

in a by-election in November 1957.

References

*''Who’s Who in New Zealand'', 6th edition 1956, edited by Frank A Simpson (1956, Reed, Wellington) 1890s births 1957 deaths Mayors of Auckland 20th-century New Zealand lawyers New Zealand military personnel of World War I University of Auckland alumni Victoria University of Wellington alumni New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire Independent politicians in New Zealand {{NewZealand-law-bio-stub