Cobb & Co Centenary Festival Closing Ceremony

Member for Warrego, Ms Ann Leahy MP; Maranoa Regional Council Mayor, Councillor Wendy Taylor and Councillors; Cobb & Co Festival Chair and President of the Yuleba Development Group, Mr Paul Masson; President of the Surat and District Development Association, Ms Jennifer Schwennesen; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls.

I begin by acknowledging the Original Custodians of the lands around Yuleba, the Mandandanji and Gunggari people, and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and to all First Nations people with us this afternoon.

Graeme and I have just had the exciting experience of arriving in Yuleba by coach – a hundred years after the very last run of Cobb & Co’s line number 177.

Our arrival here in Yuleba has given us a sense of just how exciting it must have been, back in 1878 when Cobb & Co’s brightly-painted 14-seater first arrived here, bringing passengers, goods, mail and news from as far away as St George.

Our short trip has also given us a renewed appreciation for just how challenging life was for the pioneers of the Maranoa.

Today, on sealed roads and in modern vehicles, the drive from St George to Yuleba is a comfortable two-hour trip; back then, it was a journey that took several days.

Even the 76 kilometres of the Cobb & Co Way from Surat to Yuleba had no fewer than six staging posts to harness fresh horses and deliver and collect goods, mail and passengers.

Australians today remain fascinated by the romance and adventure of the Cobb & Co legend and by the stories of the hundreds of drivers, guards, grooms, farriers and wheelwrights who kept the coaches running.

The roads were bad, accidents and breakdowns were frequent, passengers often had dubious fellow travellers, and bushrangers like the notorious Kenniff brothers were still active until the early 20^th century – they even held up a general store here in Yuleba!

Perhaps not surprisingly, passengers at that time rarely took out insurance against the risks of the road – today, the Australian Government would issue a travel warning, advising against such journeys, but in the 19^th and early 20^th century, coaches were a vital lifeline for small and remote communities.

At the height of their popularity, Cobb & Co were the largest transport business in Australia. Some six-thousand horses were harnessed every day, and their coaches travelled a total of more than 45-thousand kilometres each week through the three eastern States.

Today, the Cobb & Co’s run 177 remains a cherished part of the history and culture of the Maranoa and this wonderful festival is a fitting tribute to their enormous contribution to this region.

It’s an event that has brought together the people of Yuleba, Surat and the surrounding district in a unique way to share ideas, resources and volunteers, and now, as the festival comes to an end, I thank the generous sponsors and supporters for helping to make it possible and congratulate everyone involved in bringing this marvellous celebration to fruition.

Thank you.