On Sunday the 9th of October, Rosewood celebrated the opening of their new community space which features an exact replica of a Cobb and Co. Coach, a method of transport that Ipswich residents used frequently in the mid 1800’s. Cobb and Co. was a coaching service that was started by four American men: Freeman Cobb, John Murray Peck, James Swanton, and John Lamber in the Victorian goldfields in 1854 as a means to supply miners with a reliable and fast method of transport to and from the gold fields. Cobb and Co. was also responsible for the delivery of parcels and mail to people all over Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Japan.
In 1856 the four partners sold the company and in 1862 Cobb and Co. was bought by James Rutherford, who extended their services into New South Wales and eventually Queensland. On the 1st of January 1866 Cobb and Co. ran its first trip from Brisbane to Ipswich, carrying passengers and mail which were then transported by train to Grandchester and from there continued on Cobb and Co. coach once again to Toowomba.
The expansion of railway services and the development of the car within Australia eventually led to the demise of Cobb and Co. in 1924, when the last coach ran the Yuleba-Surat route. Today the Cobb and Co. tourist route gives you the oppurtunity to explore the history surrounding Cobb and Co. The route begins in Ipswich and works its way through Walloon, Rosewood, Grandchester, Laidley, Forest Hill, Gatton, Grantham, Helidon and eventually ends in Toowoomba.
The replica Cobb and Co coach on display at the Rosewood Community Space – Image courtesy of Picture Ipswich
Information taken from – “Cobb and Co Education resource kit” and “Cobb and Co: Coaching in Queensland” by Deborah Tranter.