|
|
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Genre | Transport |
| Founded | 1853 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Founder(s) | Freeman Cobb John Murray Peck James Scanlon James A. Lamber |
Cobb and Co is the name of a transportation company in Australia. It was prominent in the late 1800s when it operated stagecoaches to many areas in the outback and at one point in several other countries, as well.
The name stands for "Cobb & company," although the full stop after "Co" is often omitted. Alfred Deakin, Australia's second Prime Minister, was once a manager of Cobb and Co.[citation needed]
Contents |
Establishment
Initially trading as The American Telegraph Line of Coaches the company was established in 1853 by four Americans (Freeman Cobb, John Murray Peck, James Swanton and James A. Lamber),[1][2] but only rose to prominence when bought by James Rutherford and a consortium of nine other partners in 1861. Rutherford's partners included Alexander William Robertson, John Wagner, Walter Russell Hall, William Franklin Whitney and Walter Bradley. Rutherford re-organised and extended the Victorian services and while winning monopoly majormail contracts, found the advancing railways fast making Cobb & Co's Victorian routes redundant.
Services
The first services began in 1854 between Melbourne and Bendigo.[3] In 1861 Rutherford proposed extending the business into New South Wales, but his partners opposed the plan. They reversed the decision following news of the Lambing Flat (Young) gold rush. Rutherford moved ten coaches from the Castlemaine Depot in Victoria to Bathurst in 1862, and re-established his headquarters there. He transported passengers from the railway station at Penrith, all the way to the new goldfields. In 1865 on recommendations by Rutherford the company again expanded, this time to Queensland.[2]
The first Cobb and Co service in Queensland was between Ipswich and Brisbane in 1865. The coach stage stops were at Goodna and at the Oxley hotel. This service ended when the railway link was completed in 1875.[2][4] In 1871 Frederick Shaw joined the firm and established a large office, coach building factory and stables at Petrie Bight.[2] The company continued to expand it services, reaching North Queensland in the 1880s.[3]
Demise and resurrection
Cobb and Co's operations were eventually superseded by the development of the automobile and, in some areas, by railways. Not to mention the vast amount of debt that the company had taken on due to overexpansion into industries like wool[5]. The company went into receivership in 1911 after Rutherford's death. Their last horse-drawn coach service ran in 1924.[2]
Today Dyson's Bus Services owns the Cobb and Co coach company, which Dyson acquired when it purchased the Nixon Group in 2000. The company name has been resurrected in recent years by various operators and horse drawn coaches still operate at various locations throughout Australia [6].
Remembrances
- A Cobb & Co stagecoach was used during the stage musical The Man from Snowy River: Arena Spectacular.[7]
- Cobb & Co operated its lines after nightfall and its coaches were known for their triangular arrangement of lamps which were set on either side of the coach and a large central light was placed on the roof. This triangle of lights was visible for many miles across open country and is remembered in Henry Lawson’s poem, 'The Lights of Cobb & Co.'[8]
- William Henry Ogilvie mentions Cobb & Co in his poem 'How the Fire Queen Crossed the Swamp'.[9]
- Whiplash was loosely based on the life of Freeman Cobb, founder of Australia's Cobb & Co. coach line and starred Peter Graves as Christopher Cobb.[10]
- Cobb Highway received its name in 1947 in commemoration of the Cobb & Co coach company.
- The Coach of Cobb and Co., Musical Song. Off the Album "Australia: Our Land, Our Music"
- A Cobb and Co stagecoach is used in the Australian Outback Spectacular on the Gold Coast, Australia.
See also
References
- ^ "Coaching Days in Australia", Volume 2, "The Australian Junior Encyclopaedia", A.J.E. Publications (Vic.) Pty. Ltd., Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 1962
- ^ a b c d e Hacker, D. R. (1999). Petries Bight: a Slice of Brisbane History. Bowen Hills, Queensland: Queensland Women's Historical Association Inc. pp. 19—20. ISBN 0959027181.
- ^ a b Munns, Cec F.; A. McLay, J Sparkes, W. Logue, S. Paul and B. Short (1987). The way we were. Volume 3 (2 ed.). South Melbourne, Victoria: Brooks Waterlook Publicaters. pp. 240. ISBN 0855685077.
- ^ Goodna then and now -Ipswich City Council
- ^ Everingham, S., 2007, "Wild Ride: The Rise and Fall of Cobb & Co."
- ^ Meanders COBB & Co Coach
- ^ publicity photo for "The Man from Snowy River: Arena Spectacular", featuring the Cobb & Co coach which was used in the 2002 musical
- ^ The Lights of Cobb and Co. by Henry Lawson
- ^ How the Fire Queen Crossed the Swamp by William Ogilvie
- ^ Whiplash - Classic Australian Television
External links
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