Frederick William Adolphus Skae

Frederick William Adolphus Skae (14 May 1842– 25 June 1881) was a Scottish born New Zealand psychiatrist and health administrator.

Skae was born in Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland in 1842, the third son of Dr David Skae who was physician to the Morningside Asylum in Edinburgh. He studied medicine in Edinburgh, graduating with an MD from the University of St Andrews.

In 1871 a parliamentary commission in New Zealand recommended that a British doctor be appointed to head asylums. After several years delay the government appointed Skae to the position.

During Skae's time at Larbert he had adhered to the prevailing attitude that mental health patients were incurable; chronic patients received little treatment, institutionalisation became the norm and there were never enough beds to meet the demand. He found extensive overcrowding and his solutions were to try and limit admissions and increase the numbers of patients who could be discharged; as there was no equivalent of the Poor Law workhouses to fall back on Skae proposed boarding out. He was vilified in the press. He died before the six months had elapsed from "mental shock and erysipelas". He was succeeded by George Grabham.

In 1866 he married Henrietta Traill and they had nine children. After her husband's death Henrietta returned to Scotland with their children. Two of their sons also became doctors.