Betsi Ashton

Fan
Name:	Betsi Ashton
Alias(es):	Shtona Isteb
Type:	Fan, FanFiction, Fanpoetry
Fandoms:	Star Trek,
Communities:	SASTREK?, Austrek, Trekcon 1, AussieTrek 1, Galactic Tours
Other:
URL:
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Betsi Ashton at Galactic Tours - photo by Helena Binns

Betsi Ashton (September 1920? - 2006?) was an Australian Star Trek TOS fan. She created fanfiction and fanpoetry.

Betsi lived in Adelaide, South Australia, but she enthusiastically attended Star Trek conventions in Melbourne and Sydney. At Trekcon 1 (Melbourne, July 1978) and Aussietrek 1 (Sydney March 1979), she appeared as a Vulcan female wearing a crocheted costume and a tea cozy on her head, calling herself T'Pot.

She was Fan Guest of Honour for Trekcon 3 in Melbourne in 1987. The convention booklet features some autobiographical details: she was raised as an avid reader, absorbing such tales as Alice in Wonderland, Aesop’s Fables, The Arabian Nights, The War of the Worlds, Knights of the Round Table, Greeks and Heroes; not to mention Homer’s Iliad and the Odyssey. She even stated wistfully:

Ah! the immortal Ulysses – could he have foretold the 23rd. Century and a man called Kirk?

What a rich heritage! I am thankful for these and many others, and regard them as friends to be visited and re-visited.

Diane Marchant, Betsi Ashton (in blue), Robin Walker, and Theresa ('Tessie') de Gabriele (front), at Diane's house during the weekend of Trekcon 1 in July 1978. Photographer unknown.

In her autobiographical piece, she tells how she was eventually 'guided' towards science fiction authors H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, C. S. Lewis, Arthur C. Clarke and others. Then she discovered science fiction on TV, starting with A For Andromeda. This eventually led her to Star Trek TOS:

But then….along came Star Trek, which not only captured the imagination but fired it as well. From daydreaming, “…wouldn’t it be wonderful if…” I found myself not only thinking about an exciting but logical Future for Humankind, but actually writing about it.

Star Trek…. science, fantasy, high adventure, poetry of living, depth of feeling, humour, love of all living things… all in one package. I felt that this was what I had been waiting for – this is, at least a (part) of, “What it’s all about”.

In 1978, she was cited during a dispute between some interstate Star Trek fans, in an appeal for peace in the spirit of Star Trek's utopian ideals (it is suspected that the spelling mistakes are not hers):

Are we all idealists at heart? Do we secretly admire characteristics we see in our friends? ... The strength of mind of Kirk, Spock's integrity and cool detachment, the loyalty of Scottie [sic], Uhura's maturity, Chapell's [sic] devotion, McCoy's humanity and gentleness? Is it time to grow in understanding and appreciation? What ideals do you have?

Betsi Ashton at AussieTrek 1 (Sydney, March 1979) appearing as a Vulcan named T'Pot in the costume parade before judges Diane Marchant, George Takei and Marilyn Mayo.

Betsi was primarily known as an author of fan fiction and poetry. This included her poetry anthology The Star Gazer (1979) and her follow-up anthology, Portals of Time (1986). In the latter, she editorialised to her readers:

Our world is all before you -

exciting, diverse -

and,

any day now,

the Universe.

Betsi had material published in a variety of fanzines, including Beyond Antares #12 (1980), #13 (1979) and #22 (1982); Spock #15 (1979), #19 (1980), #40 (1985), #42 (1985) and #44 (1986); Medical Journal #4 (1986); and The Character of Conflict (1990).

In terms of length, her most significant Star Trek fan writing was The Other Side of the Galaxy (1982), a 201-page, novel-length publication which featured four female protagonists who, in a Mary Sue style adventure, visit the Enterprise and save the day while also having close relationships with prominent male crewmembers. Significantly for its era, these characters later change their gender (and species), although this would appear to be for political comment regarding gender roles and empowerment of females, rather than for any transgender exploration. Nevertheless, her exploration of transitioning (albeit from a cisgender female perspective) might be seen to be groundbreaking in that it was decades ahead of the franchise canon. One very short review of her book aptly but enthusiastically summarised the material:

Have you ever wanted to join the crew of the 'Enterprise'?

Here's your chance to become involved in events which may change the nature of interplanetary alliances!

Shortly before she died, Betsi wrote that, "I'll be 86 in September but I'm still trekking."