Gardiner, Frank (1831-1903?), was an Australian bushranger. He was probably born Francis Christie in Scotland. During his life, he went by numerous aliases (false names). His family settled near Goulburn, New South Wales, in 1834.
Like many local men in rural areas of Australia in the 1800’s, Gardiner was involved in livestock theft. In 1850, he was sentenced to five years for horse theft in Victoria. He escaped in 1851, but in 1854, he was again sentenced to jail for horse theft, this time in New South Wales. After serving 5 years of a 14-year sentence, he was released on a ticket of leave (a type of parole). He then moved to the Kiandra district (now located within Kosciuszko National Park).
In 1861, facing charges of cattle theft, Gardiner fled from authorities and took to bushranging with several friends. Gardiner moved to the Lachlan district near the Lambing Flat gold fields, now the site of the town of Young, in New South Wales, and formed a larger gang. In 1862, Gardiner and his men, who may have included the renowned bushranger Ben Hall in their number, robbed the gold escort at Eugowra. The gang took more than £14,000 from the robbery. Gardiner then left for the Aphis Creek gold field in Queensland, where he became a shopkeeper. His whereabouts were discovered by the police in 1864 when Gardiner’s companion, Kitty Brown, wrote to relatives in the Lachlan district. He was arrested, tried, and sentenced to 32 years of hard labor. After serving 10 years, Gardiner was pardoned on the condition that he leave the Australian colonies. He sailed for America. What happened to him there remains unknown.
