Frank Gardiner

Frank Gardiner
Gardiner, 1864
Born	1830 Scotland
Died	c. 1903 Colorado, United States
Occupation	Bushranger

Frank Gardiner (1830 – c. 1903?) was an Australian bushranger. Sources differ as to his origins. Some have him as a Currency Lad, native-born near Goulburn, New South Wales around 1830, others that he was Scottish-born, and migrated to Australia as a child with his parents in 1834. His real name was Francis Christie, though he often used one of several other aliases including Gardiner, Clarke or Christie. He supposedly took the name Gardiner after a man who lived for some years with his family and who had taught him how to ride and break in horses. He continued to use the surname Gardiner when he moved to the United States.

Gardiner was 5 ft 9 inches tall with an athletic build, with his brown wavy hair and hazel eyes, he was attractive with a face of a corsair and a smooth voice.

In 1850, Gardiner moved to Victoria and there with two accomplices stole 24 horses from William Morton's station in the Loddon Valley. They planned to sell the horses in Portland. Morton followed their tracks to Bilson's Inn, near Heyfield, where the trio were arrested. Gardiner was tried at Geelong on 22 October 1850 and sentenced to five years hard labour.

On 20 March 1851, Gardiner was part of a work party working outside Pentridge Prison when they rushed the guards and escaped. Most of the convicts were rounded up within days but Gardiner escaped and returned to New South Wales. Teaming up with a youth named Prior, Gardiner resumed his horse stealing career. In February 1854 Gardiner (now calling himself Clarke) and Prior were caught trying to sell stolen horses at Yass. This time he was sentenced to fourteen years ( seven years for each charge). While imprisoned on Cockatoo Island he met the bushranger John Peisley.

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