Frederick Standish

Captain Frederick Charles Standish (20 April 1824 – 19 March 1883), often referred to as "Captain Standish", was a Chief Commissioner of Police in Victoria (Australia). Biography Standish was born in 1824 at Standish Hall, Wigan, Lancashire, the second son of Lord Charles Strickland Standish (1790-1863) and Émilie (Emma) Conradine Matthiessen (1801-1831). He was educated at Prior Park College, Bath, and then entered the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. He subsequently obtained a commission in the Royal Artillery, in which he served for nine years, and retired at the rank of captain. Standish was a known gambler on English racecourses, and lost a significant amount of money. He sold his mortgaged property in 1852 and left England for the Australian colonies. Standish went to Victoria in 1852, and in 1854 was appointed Assistant Commissioner of Goldfields at Sandhurst (Bendigo), and in 1858 Chinese Protector. On the resignation of Sir Charles MacMahon he was made Chief Commissioner of the Police. In 1879 he brought a contingent of Queensland Police Aboriginal trackers to assist in the hunt for the Kelly Gang. He resigned from the role of Chief Police Commissioner in 1880.