Francis Gardiner went by many aliases, including "Darkie" Clark, "The Highwayman", "The King of the Road", the "Father of Bushranging", the "Prince of Tobymen", and Francis Christie, whom most believe was his real name. Frank Gardiner was born in Scotland around 1830, and became skilled at riding and shooting while growing up on a farm at Boro, Australia. He was tall (five foot - eight), with black hair, dark eyes, and was very polite, a gentleman to the core and Australia's "Most Wanted" bushranger and first world famous celebrity. He began his crime career as a horse thief in 1850 when he was arrested for horse stealing and sent to the Pentridge Stockade at Melbourne, and escaped. He was arrested again for the same crime in 1854, was sent to Cockatoo Island and remained there until 1859 until he got a ticket of leave and broke his parole. He operated a butcher shop that included cattle duffing, and Gardiner earned the title of "Gunman Gardiner" when he exchanged gunfire with two policemen at Fogg's Hutt near Bigga, Australia. Gardiner was wounded in the head by Sergeant John Middleton, and Gardiner fired back shooting Middleton in the mouth, and then wounding Trooper William Hosie. Gardiner was captured during the gunfight, and later escaped from Trooper Hosie while Sgt. Middleton was rounding up horses. Gardiner captured world fame when he masterminded and carried out the largest gold escort robbery in the history of colonial Australia in the summer of 1862 when he led the Gardiner gang and handed the gang over to Ben Hall, and disappeared. He was the first Australian celebrity to gain worldwide attention when he was the first Aussie mentioned in London Times and American newspapers. Gardiner used the alias of Francis Christe and married Catherine "Kitty" Brown, and operated a pub on Apis Creek until he was captured in 1864 by police. Frank Gardiner, who rode the best horse in the district, took whatever he wanted, and was the most feared gunman in New South Wales, was sentenced to thirty - two years at Darlinghurst for robbery under arms and attempted murder of a police officer. Frank Gardiner served ten years and was the only Australian exiled, and the only Australian bushranger to not die from gunshot wounds or hanging. He was sent to Hong Kong, and immigrated to America where he operated the Twilight Star Saloon in San Francisco on the notorious Barbary Coast and he married a wealthy widow, owned a fine ranch, and fathered two twin sons until his mysterious death in the early 1900s.

I am researching Frank Gardiner. You mentioned he married Kitty, can you tell me if you have primary source information about that marriage. Your article is the first mention I have seen of a marriage. Thanks.

There's an inaccuracy in the claim here that Frank Gardiner was the only bushranger not to die of gunshot wounds or hanging. His co-prisoner in Cockatoo Island Prison, Fred Ward (Captain Thunderbolt) wasn't shot at Uralla as the police claimed. It was his uncle, Harry Ward, who doubled as 'Captain Thunderbolt' to the annoyance of the real McCoy. The police cover-up of the facts surrounding the 'death' of Thunderbolt had its roots in the way Sgt Walker (who shot Harry) wrongly claimed the reward. The crime remains hidden by a shameless NSW Police to this day, and my attempts to get a state MP to get access to incriminating records have so far been thwarted.

Fred Ward, like Gardiner, went to California. I'm sure he looked Gardiner up at his Saloon in San Francisco. Ward and his wife were true folk heroes, the legends of whom were trashed by corrupt police. The way Ward was treated tells us a lot about how Australia ended up as a nation of individuals with little real character. Basically good men like Ward were (i) treated badly by corrupt officials, and (ii) disposed of as a nuisance. We pay the cost of that shabby colonial policy to this day.

Another Australian bushranger who dodged the bullet and noose was John Vane. Ben Hall and the other members of his gang during 1863 (after Gardiner had skipped to Qld with Hall's sister-in-law) caught up with Vane and Micky Burke at Neville, NSW. Vane being established in duffing of their own district and a quality horseman. The new gang raided Bathurst twice (unsuccessfully) and performed other famous exploits during this period.

Shortly after Burke was killed, during the raid on Dunn's Plains, Vane surrendered and was sentenced to 15 years at Darlinghurst. He served only six years, with two months at Cockatoo Island in between by mistake. Vane met up with Gardiner while at Darlinghurst.

After his release Vane worked for a short time in Sydney as a stonemason, on St Mary's Cathedral, before returning to the Central West.

He died of fever in Cowra hospital in 1906 at the age of 64.

It was only early this year I discovered that GGgrandparents Archibald Craig and wife Louisa were (innocently) in partnership with Frank Gardiner at Apis Creek. Seems they did not know his true identity. Archibald had the hotel licence and Christie/Gardiner owned the general store.
I can only assume that as our family thought they were associated with the more upper classes with landholdings, any association with bushrangers was never to be mentioned.
Archibald was arrested but soon released. He died of a fever at Apis Creek in 1868. Louisa and 3 children born there returned to her parents at Penola, SA.

Neil
Vic