Celebrating the Centenary of Cobb & Co.’s Final Journey

Member for Toowoomba North, Mr Trevor Watts MP; Toowoomba Regional Council Mayor, Councillor Geoff McDonald and Councillors; Queensland Museum CEO, Dr Jim Thompson; Friends of Queensland Museum Cobb & Co President, Dr Dennis Campbell; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen.

Thank you, Mr Bauwens, for your warm Welcome to Country. I would also like to begin by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the lands around Toowoomba, and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and all First Nations people with us this evening.

Graeme and I are delighted to be here, commemorating the centenary of the final Cobb & Co coach journey on the 14th of August 1924.

That journey marked the end of an era that began in the glory days of the Victorian and News South Wales gold rush, when Cobb & Co coaches were the fastest vehicles on the road.

By the 1860s, the imported American coaches had been replaced by Australian-built vehicles and the network had crossed the border into Queensland.

By the turn of the century, the company was operating 39 routes in this State, and Cobb & Co coaches had become a lifeline that carried the mail, moved people and goods across vast distances and provided a vital connection between communities.

However, feeding and watering more than 9,000 horses and employing hundreds of coach drivers, grooms and office staff eventually became unsustainable, exacerbated by the expanding railway network and the growing popularity and affordability of motor vehicles.

Even Cobb & Co themselves began to acquire motor vehicles, while airmail services had also ben launched.

The end of the coaching era was inevitable, but a century after that final coach trip from Yuleba to Surat, we can all take pride in the legacy left to us by Cobb & Co.

The coach services helped foster growth and settlement in regional and remote areas of the State, often providing the only link between isolated communities and the outside world. It also established – quite literally – the pathways that have led to our modern transportation networks.

But perhaps most importantly, Cobb & Co embodied the determination and innovation that helped shape the Queensland we know today.

I congratulate the Queensland Museum and the Friends of Cobb & Co for ensuring that the history of the coaching era and this iconic company is preserved here in the Cobb & Co Museum.

An editorial in the Sydney Daily Telegraph noted, shortly after that final coach journey characterised it as, and I quote:

“A fine service it was, full of peculiar Australian characteristics: casual, happy-go-lucky, marked by good fellowship, good humour, courage, and an immense patience with the weather and the vicissitudes of the road. No motor, be it ever so swift and sure, can ever be half as attractive as the coach with its sterling team, its sound equipment and its splendid drivers.”

What a privilege it is to gather tonight to commemorate this milestone that stands as a testament to our state's rich history and the relentless spirit of progress.

And is fitting that we mark the centenary of the Cobb & Co’s final journey with a unique performance that captures the essence of this remarkable story by Camerata – Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra, of which I am proud Patron.

As we immerse ourselves in this performance, let us remember the indomitable spirit of Cobb & Co., and the vibrant legacy it has left us.

May the music and words evoke the timeless journey of Cobb & Co., and remind us of the remarkable connections forged by their legendary coaches.

Thank you.