 It appears that he was not afraid of brandishing his authority and in 1854 when he was appointed to the commission of inquiry into the Bentley hotel affair at Ballarat – seen by many to be a precursor to the Eureka Stockade – he recommended dismissal of some corrupt government officers and compensation to some of those who had suffered losses.Evelyn also was appointed as a member of the royal commissions in 1861 that reported on the disastrous Burke and Wills expedition.In 1869, he took a brief leave of absence from his position and returned to England (with his wife) and was present at the death of his brother Charles Sturt who had returned to live in England some 18 years earlier.