For the past 80 years the Ashton family has been well-known for playing polo.
James Hay (Jim) Ashton bought Millamolong Station near Mandurama in the early 1930s with his share of the proceeds from the legendary Ashton brothers’ trip to England and America. He went on to work in the agricultural industry and the political arena for many years and during World War II was a member of the Commonwealth Bank Board (now RBA) representing the rural industries across Australia.
Millamolong Station was handed onto his two sons and the eldest, James Ashton, went on to run the property from 1962. James played polo with as much vigour as his father and became a leading figure in international and Australian polo until his untimely death in 2010 at the age of 69 in a polo-playing accident in Thailand.
James established Millamolong Polo Club in 1997 to honour the memory of his son Jamie, a promising polo player who lost his young life in a road accident. Today, the Club is proud to have hosted many national and international teams and its annual events attract bigger and bigger followings each year, with the James Ashton and Jamie Ashton Memorial Cups being challenged every autumn.
In 2011 most of Millamolong’s landholding was sold, but the Millamolong Polo Club and ground continues with enthusiasm and is today run by a committee of dedicated members including James’ son Andrew Ashton.
The Millamolong Charity Fund supports local and international charitable and community causes and the Club's dedicated social committee and main committee work hard to ensure their events attract maximum attendance and that fundraising goals are achieved.
Millamolong continues to go from strength to strength. As we move into the future, we will continue to promote the great sport of polo and support the local and global community.