Captain Frederick Charles Standish

 (1824-1883)

Captain Standish was the judge at several of the early race meetings held at the Red House, a hotel located in High St Northcote that would become the Croxton Park. A keen race goer, he acted in a similar capacity at Flemington, but as races were held there only once a month, Standish was known to spread his talents to smaller courses. 

Standish was chief commissioner of police from 1858 to 1880, the third man to hold the post. A notorious gambler, his hedonistic lifestyle and corrupt practices caused damage to the image of the police force as well as affecting internal morale. He was commissioner during the time of the Kelly Gang, drawing criticism for his force’s inefficient hunt for the notorious bushrangers, leaving the post not long after the capture of the gang at Glenrowan. 

He was also one of the stewards for the first Melbourne Cup in 1861, a founding member of the Victoria Club, a prominent Freemason and is honoured by the Standish Handicap, run at Flemington on New Years Day.

Haldane, Robert (1986). The people’s force: A history of the Victoria Police. Brunswick: Melbourne University Press.

Membrey, Brian (2003)? The pubs, the parks and the Rose. Unpublished manuscript.