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The Golden Gang: Bushranger Frank Gardiner and the biggest gold robbery in Australian history
The first comprehensive biography of the godfather of Australian bushranging – Frank Gardiner – leader of the Lachlan gang and mastermind of the largest gold heist in Australian history.
Atop the hierarchy of Australian bushrangers sits Ned Kelly – the ultimate outlaw, and just below him, the tragic figure of Ben Hall, who joined a gang led by a man whose name today is less well known, but who in his day was much more famous than Hall or any other bushranger – Frank Gardiner. Mastermind of the biggest gold robbery in Australia’s history, Gardiner led an extraordinary life, the full telling of which is long overdue.
In a tough country and among a group of tough men, Gardiner was regarded as the toughest of them all. But while he engaged in gunfights with police to evade capture, he was always courteous in manner and could lay claim to never killing anyone, and never stealing from those who could not afford to be robbed. He went by three different surnames in his lifetime and spent almost half of it behind bars, including as one of the original prisoners in Melbourne’s Pentridge Stockade, later on Sydney’s notorious Cockatoo Island and finally in Sydney’s infamous Darlinghurst Gaol.
If Frank Gardiner was never quite the Robin Hood he sometimes imagined himself to be, he was, like the mythical outlaw, a natural leader, a man capable of inspiring a motley bunch of stockmen and drifters to become the most effective and successful bushranging gang in the country’s history. They operated with a clockwork efficiency that culminated in the robbery of the Gold Escort at Eugowra Rocks, a deed that shocked the Australian colonies at the time and that would later be immortalised in Rolf Boldrewood’s classic novel Robbery Under Arms.
The Lachlan gang that Frank Gardiner put together included several men who became household names, Ben Hall, Johnny Gilbert and John O’Meally among them. From 1861 to 1863, they held reign over the roads of the Western Plains of New South Wales. Then, at the height of his success, Frank walked away from it all to spend a life of anonymity with the woman he loved. The relationship ended in tragedy, and Frank’s life subsequently took a bizarre turn that saw him exiled from his own country. He died a pauper in San Francisco, a stranger in a strange land, but not before regaining fame of a different kind.
Atop the hierarchy of Australian bushrangers sits Ned Kelly – the ultimate outlaw, and just below him, the tragic figure of Ben Hall, who joined a gang led by a man whose name today is less well known, but who in his day was much more famous than Hall or any other bushranger – Frank Gardiner. Mastermind of the biggest gold robbery in Australia’s history, Gardiner led an extraordinary life, the full telling of which is long overdue.
In a tough country and among a group of tough men, Gardiner was regarded as the toughest of them all. But while he engaged in gunfights with police to evade capture, he was always courteous in manner and could lay claim to never killing anyone, and never stealing from those who could not afford to be robbed. He went by three different surnames in his lifetime and spent almost half of it behind bars, including as one of the original prisoners in Melbourne’s Pentridge Stockade, later on Sydney’s notorious Cockatoo Island and finally in Sydney’s infamous Darlinghurst Gaol.
If Frank Gardiner was never quite the Robin Hood he sometimes imagined himself to be, he was, like the mythical outlaw, a natural leader, a man capable of inspiring a motley bunch of stockmen and drifters to become the most effective and successful bushranging gang in the country’s history. They operated with a clockwork efficiency that culminated in the robbery of the Gold Escort at Eugowra Rocks, a deed that shocked the Australian colonies at the time and that would later be immortalised in Rolf Boldrewood’s classic novel Robbery Under Arms.
The Lachlan gang that Frank Gardiner put together included several men who became household names, Ben Hall, Johnny Gilbert and John O’Meally among them. From 1861 to 1863, they held reign over the roads of the Western Plains of New South Wales. Then, at the height of his success, Frank walked away from it all to spend a life of anonymity with the woman he loved. The relationship ended in tragedy, and Frank’s life subsequently took a bizarre turn that saw him exiled from his own country. He died a pauper in San Francisco, a stranger in a strange land, but not before regaining fame of a different kind.
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Kindle Edition
Published August 14, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 29, 2024
‘The man who became Frank Gardiner was born Francis James Christie in 1929 in Inverness, Scotland, to Charles and Jane Christie.’
When I saw this book advertised as the first comprehensive biography of Australian bushranger Frank Gardiner, I had to read it. I first came across Frank Gardiner’s name when reading Frank Clune’s ‘Dark Outlaw’ as an impressionable teenager over fifty years ago. According to Mr Shaw, ‘Frank Gardiner was ‘the godfather of Australian bushranging’. He was the ‘leader of the Lachlan gang and mastermind of the largest gold heist in Australian history’. Use of the word ‘godfather’ rang a warning bell, but I was keen to learn more. First a few biographical facts:
Frank Gardiner was known by three names during his lifetime. He was born in Scotland in 1829 and named Francis James Christie. In 1834 the family emigrated to Australia. Aged seventeen, Frank left home and supplemented his wages by rustling horses. He was caught, and after being released from prison in Victoria became known as Frank Clarke. In 1854 he was convicted of horse theft and sentenced to 14 years imprisonment on Cockatoo Island in Sydney Harbour. After he was released on a Ticket of Leave, he became Frank Gardiner.
I won’t detail his various crimes and adventures. Suffice to say that he was a natural leader, capable of inspiring others. According to this book, the Lachlan gang that he put together became the most effective and successful gang of bushrangers in Australian history. Their successful robbery of the Gold Escort at Eugowra shocked the Australian colonies. The Lachlan gang also included several other bushrangers, including Ben Hall and Johnny Gilbert, who became household names.
And how can there be a story about a bushranger without a little romance? Yes, Frank Gardiner left bushranging with Ben Hall's sister-in-law Kitty Brown to live a life of anonymity in Queensland.
Until he was captured, taken back to Sydney and sentenced in 1864 to 32 years hard labour. Gardiner was pardoned after ten years, conditional upon him leaving the country on release and being exiled from the Australian colonies and New Zealand.
Frank Gardiner travelled to San Francisco where, by 1882 he was reportedly bankrupt and homeless. While there are numerous reports of his death having occurred in 1882, with his burial in a pauper's grave near the Legion of Honor Park in San Francisco, no-one knows for sure when he died and where he is buried.
I found this account of the life and times of Frank Gardiner in colonial Australia interesting. Now I am no longer an impressionable teenager, I am less inclined to look at bushrangers through rose-coloured glasses.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
When I saw this book advertised as the first comprehensive biography of Australian bushranger Frank Gardiner, I had to read it. I first came across Frank Gardiner’s name when reading Frank Clune’s ‘Dark Outlaw’ as an impressionable teenager over fifty years ago. According to Mr Shaw, ‘Frank Gardiner was ‘the godfather of Australian bushranging’. He was the ‘leader of the Lachlan gang and mastermind of the largest gold heist in Australian history’. Use of the word ‘godfather’ rang a warning bell, but I was keen to learn more. First a few biographical facts:
Frank Gardiner was known by three names during his lifetime. He was born in Scotland in 1829 and named Francis James Christie. In 1834 the family emigrated to Australia. Aged seventeen, Frank left home and supplemented his wages by rustling horses. He was caught, and after being released from prison in Victoria became known as Frank Clarke. In 1854 he was convicted of horse theft and sentenced to 14 years imprisonment on Cockatoo Island in Sydney Harbour. After he was released on a Ticket of Leave, he became Frank Gardiner.
I won’t detail his various crimes and adventures. Suffice to say that he was a natural leader, capable of inspiring others. According to this book, the Lachlan gang that he put together became the most effective and successful gang of bushrangers in Australian history. Their successful robbery of the Gold Escort at Eugowra shocked the Australian colonies. The Lachlan gang also included several other bushrangers, including Ben Hall and Johnny Gilbert, who became household names.
And how can there be a story about a bushranger without a little romance? Yes, Frank Gardiner left bushranging with Ben Hall's sister-in-law Kitty Brown to live a life of anonymity in Queensland.
Until he was captured, taken back to Sydney and sentenced in 1864 to 32 years hard labour. Gardiner was pardoned after ten years, conditional upon him leaving the country on release and being exiled from the Australian colonies and New Zealand.
Frank Gardiner travelled to San Francisco where, by 1882 he was reportedly bankrupt and homeless. While there are numerous reports of his death having occurred in 1882, with his burial in a pauper's grave near the Legion of Honor Park in San Francisco, no-one knows for sure when he died and where he is buried.
I found this account of the life and times of Frank Gardiner in colonial Australia interesting. Now I am no longer an impressionable teenager, I am less inclined to look at bushrangers through rose-coloured glasses.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
August 14, 2024
I was lucky enough to read this prior to its general release on Amazon as the author had given a few copies to the local library.
Overall, the book is an easy, flowing read on the exploits of Frank Gardiner and his band of bushrangers, many of which joined Frank or carried on their exploits on their own. The author quotes a lot of what Gardiner thought, but without any references or footnotes - it can only be assumed the author is writing what he thinks Gardiner thought. History is not about what one thinks someone thought, it's about the facts. Without references it becomes hearsay and it's how myths begin.
Early on in the book the author states that the bushranging activities of the group moved 'west' from Goulburn to Bathurst. Unfortunately, Bathurst is due north of Goulburn (with a lot of terrain in between). There's other sections in the book where the story moves from southern NSW to central west NSW in one sentence - hardly a distance a group of bushrangers would cover in a short period of time and made following the story difficult. It appears the author's geography knowledge of the region is lacking which is disappointing. Geography in the story of bushrangers is everything. A map of key locations would have been appreciated and informing.
Not withstanding the above, the story is a good, general read if you're not familiar with Gardiner and his fleeting 'gang', though there's nothing in this story that hasn't been told elsewhere and in greater, more accurate detail. 3.5 stars
Overall, the book is an easy, flowing read on the exploits of Frank Gardiner and his band of bushrangers, many of which joined Frank or carried on their exploits on their own. The author quotes a lot of what Gardiner thought, but without any references or footnotes - it can only be assumed the author is writing what he thinks Gardiner thought. History is not about what one thinks someone thought, it's about the facts. Without references it becomes hearsay and it's how myths begin.
Early on in the book the author states that the bushranging activities of the group moved 'west' from Goulburn to Bathurst. Unfortunately, Bathurst is due north of Goulburn (with a lot of terrain in between). There's other sections in the book where the story moves from southern NSW to central west NSW in one sentence - hardly a distance a group of bushrangers would cover in a short period of time and made following the story difficult. It appears the author's geography knowledge of the region is lacking which is disappointing. Geography in the story of bushrangers is everything. A map of key locations would have been appreciated and informing.
Not withstanding the above, the story is a good, general read if you're not familiar with Gardiner and his fleeting 'gang', though there's nothing in this story that hasn't been told elsewhere and in greater, more accurate detail. 3.5 stars
September 29, 2024
A quite disappointing book - Ian Shaw is a most personable chap - but a writer not a historian. The book is simply a loose compilation of events masquerading as a thorough historical account of the robbery and particularly the ringleader, Frank Gardiner; based on secondary sources with very little original research (Trove and fictional history don't count as original research) and apparently no visits to the actual sites of the bushrangers’ escapades to gain an understanding and appreciation of the geography and atmosphere of the country.
As an overview of social attitudes and people in rural Australia in the mid nineteenth century the book has some value; as an historical account - no.
There is a vague bibliography but too many references to historical fiction authors (Clune, Bradshaw, Nunn and so on)
The book contains many errors, of fact, of chronology, geography, place names and distances.
The Eugowra Escort robbery was not even the "biggest heist" - that would be the gold theft at Port Phillip in 1851. The McIvor escort robbery in July 1853 was only slightly less rewarding - that action was the template Gardiner used for Eugowra.
The S&S publication is unfortunately simply a paperback of cheap paper and cheap quality.
Most disappointing.
As an overview of social attitudes and people in rural Australia in the mid nineteenth century the book has some value; as an historical account - no.
There is a vague bibliography but too many references to historical fiction authors (Clune, Bradshaw, Nunn and so on)
The book contains many errors, of fact, of chronology, geography, place names and distances.
The Eugowra Escort robbery was not even the "biggest heist" - that would be the gold theft at Port Phillip in 1851. The McIvor escort robbery in July 1853 was only slightly less rewarding - that action was the template Gardiner used for Eugowra.
The S&S publication is unfortunately simply a paperback of cheap paper and cheap quality.
Most disappointing.
September 3, 2024
As an American, I don't know much about the 1800's in Australia, but it sounds very similar to the U.S. Wild West. This felt well researched, but, like most investigations into legend, the truth is more tragic, and less entertaining, than the story. Shaw filled out gaps in knowledge over Frank Gardner by providing backstories for nearly every person who crossed his path. While I appreciate the dedication to only reporting facts, these side stories were felt overwhelming and made the book longer than really necessary. I might feel differently if these names were already familiar but for someone unfamiliar, this was at times difficult to follow.
December 9, 2024
Having not known much about Australian history, I thought this story was absolutely amazing. It reminded me alot of outlaw/ cowboy stories in the US but the details and facts of this story just had me floored. I did this one audio and the narrator is very Australian and it made it feel like someones Grandpa did a report on him in college and was sharing all he'd learned. It was a phenomenally well done nonfiction!
September 4, 2024
Interesting history of part of the “Wild West” days in Australia.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews