Andrew James Gardiner

221

D Wong on 13th November 2019

National Records of Scotland Reference JC26/1818/98 Title Porteous Roll for the county of Perth, for the Circuit Court of Justiciary (North Circuit, Spring) to be held at Perth. Dates 16 April 1818 Description Indicted for trial: 4. Andrew Gardener, lately prisoner in the tolbooth of Perth, for the crime of theft. Pled guilty. Found guilty in terms of confession. Sentenced to transportation beyond the seas for 7 years. High Court of Justiciary: Perth Andrew James Gardiner was listed as 26 years old on arrival. (Other sites list his as 28). Birth dates on his Convict Indents on Ancestry are 1790 and 1792. Andrew was 5'3¾" tall, dark ruddy freckled complexion, brown hair, hazel eyes. Father: John, an engineer. Mother: Elizabeth Occupation: Herdsman and later described as a Miller. Assigned to the Rev. Samuel Marsden at Wilberforce, NSW. First as a farm worker and then as an overseer on one of his properties. 8/7/1825: TOL 7/12/1825: Married Sarah Perry (Mary 1823) at St. John's, Parramatta. Children: 1826: John Andrew Gardiner d 1898 1827: Mary Ann Gardiner d 1892 Sarah Perry died 1875. The following is from https://australianroyalty.net.au/individual.php?pid=I55085&ged=purnellmccord.ged Source: Spurway, John, ed. Australian Biographical and Genealogical Record. Series 1, 1788-1841, with series 2 supplement, 1842-1899. Sydney: A.B.G.R., 1992 Andrew was granted 640 acres in 1827 by Governor Darling, at Antonio's Creek, near Hartley close to the bottom of Victoria Road, between Old Bowenfels and Rydal and ran into the Fish River. The property was originally promised to Anthony Hordern, who requested it be given to Andrew instead. The property became known as 'Berry Farm'. In the 1828 census, Andrew was employing 4 servants, had cleared 8 acres and was running 145 head of cattle. He also had established an accommodation house on his farm in 1827, which he called 'Gardiner's Inn', at which he sold liquor and supplies to travellers. While droving cattle up Mount York, he decided to open an inn at the top of the mountain, now Blackheath (1992), as the new road down the mountains would bypass the famous old 'Colitt's Inn' at the foot of Mount York. Andrew petitioned Governor Darling in 1829, who delayed the decision until he had seen the site himself, which he did a month later. He was most impressed and granted Andrew 20 acres to build his inn. The grant was not officially recorded until 7 Jan 1844. Andrew had been authorised to take possession on 20 May 1830. The land, later described as 'the first land grant at Blackheath' lies in the area bounded on the west by the Great Western Highway between Gardiners Crescent and Govitts Leap Road, then down to Govitts Lead Road to Gardiners Cresent, back to the Highway. The Governor allotted Andrew five skilled emancipists to help erect the building, which was built of stone cut from a nearby quarry, and became the first private stone building constructed on the Central Tablelands. One wall still stands (1992) within the structure of the present 'Gardners Inn' hotel. Andrew was not always the licencee, but always retained ownership. In Jan 1836, Charles Darwin, the eminent scientist, stayed in a front room of the inn, noting in his diary that 'the inn was run by an old soldier of the Napoleonic Wars, was homely and reminded him of the inns of north Wales, could accommodate up to 15 travellers'. Whether Andrew fought in the Napoleonic Wars is not known. Andrew called his inn the 'Scottish Thistle'. An original corner stone with a thistle carved on it is exhibited at History House at Wentworth Falls. The licence was granted to sell liquor on 3 Jul 1833 for a fee of 25 pounds, but was backdated 2 years, as was the custom with new establishments. Andrew built another inn at the bottom of the Victoria Pass called the 'Plough Inn' in 1836. The licence was granted in 1837. In 1839 he was granted a lease of 3,360 acres in County Westmoreland, near Antonio's Creek for ten pounds 10 shillings a year and in 1848 applied for Lease 49, being Crown land adjoining Macquarie Marshes known as 'Merrybone', consisting of 5 square miles. On 16 Sep 1843, Andrew obtained a loan of 800 pounds to buy stock for his farm. The 'Scottish Thistle' was part collateral. In 1846, Andrew's son in law, George William Bloodworth was the licencee of the 'Scottish Thistle'. Several bushrangers used to scout around the inn for prospective travelers to rob and it was a favourite stopping place for the gold escorts after they climbed the range from Bathurst. 16/12/1861: Andrew died at Harley, Blue Mountain, NSW., aged 71, and was buried at South Bowenfels, Central Tablelands, NSW.