Francis Gardner (c.1770- ), a seaman, was found guilty on 21 April 1784 at the Old Bailey, London, of stealing, with a companion, 20 bushels of coal from a boat. Sentenced to 7 years transportation, he was sent to the Censor hulk on 6 September 1784 and was discharged to the Scarborough in February 1787. He arrived at Sydney in January 1788 as part of the First Fleet.
Gardner was reported to have left the colony before the end of 1791, his sentence having expired.
* information from Mollie Gillen, The Founders of Australia: A Biographical Dictionary of the First Fleet (1989), p 139
'Gardner, Francis (c. 1770–?)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/gardner-francis-31161/text38549, accessed 16 September 2024.