other adjutant position in the S.A.V. On 17 June 1840, Litchfield was gazetted as a sub-inspector of the metropolitan (foot) branch of the South Australia Police. The man who appointed him was Thomas Shuldham O’Halloran, then newly appointed as Commissioner of Police, and a former lieutenant of the 17th Foot, with whom Litchfield had served in India. O’Halloran was also major-commandant of the S.A.V. militia. Meanwhile, young Fred Litchfield’s education began at a private day school in Adelaide, and was finished at the Oddfellows School, of which Lodge his father was an office-holder. The family grew rapidly, and younger half-brothers and half-sisters soon joined Fred. Charles William Litchfield served ten years in the police, rising to Inspector rank and overall command of the Adelaide Metropolitan Police. Then, after a short illness, he died on 25 August 1850, aged 47 years, leaving a widow and nine children. His death was not without public controversy. Inspector Litchfield was highly esteemed but not wealthy. Many prominent citizens felt great sympathy for his widow and family. Police connections as well as members of his Oddfellows Lodge rapidly raised a considerable endowment. This was offered as a managed trust, rather than an outright gift, but it was refused by the widow on grounds that she wished to control her own financial destiny. The refusal of this charitable gesture caused many donors to become so indignant that they retracted their contribution. Victorian Goldfields In 1851 Fred’s sister, Agnes Theresa, married to mounted police Corporal George Ezekiel Mason, stationed at Wellington, South Australia, on the River Murray. Mason was also sub-protector of Aborigines. In view of his stepmother’s grim financial situation, Fred joined them there, working as a labourer in the district. When the Victorian gold rush came, 21-year-old Fred was quick to head for the diggings to make his own way in life. Along with one of the Mason family, he sailed to Melbourne in January 1853 on the Dreadnought. The pair then led a knockabout life as gold-miners, without tangible success, until Fred returned to Wellington about 1858. Again unemployed, he had thoughts of obtaining his own grazing property there. Tolmer expedition At Wellington, Fred was to again cross paths with Alexander Tolmer, whose police career was ignominiously over. Tolmer was now a settler there, but still had grand ambitions. In September 1859, with partly SA Government support, Tolmer commenced an exploration expedition to cross