2024 Cobb & Co - Centenary of the Last Coach Passenger Service in Australia Stamp and Coin Cover PNC

The Last ever Cobb & Co coach service ended its final journey 100 years ago, leaving the name Cobb & Co firmly entrenched in Australian folklore. Founded in Victoria in 1853 at the height of the gold rushes, this horse-drawn coach service spread across Eastern Australi, contributing much to opening up the inland to travelers and new settlers. 

At the height of the 1850s Victorian gold rush, four newly arrived Americans, Freeman Cobb and three colleagues, saw the opportunity to launch a transport business, using horse-drawn carriages like those in the American West. From that first journey in 1853, Cobb & Co coach routes crisscrossed Eastern Australia, establishing a reputation for speed and reliability.

Although railways progressively connected major towns, Cobb & Co instead linked more distant communities. Horses needed to be changed every 15-25 Kilometres at a network of waystations, often inns, directly contributing to the opening of rural Australia. 

Cobb & Co's final journey came on the 14th of August 1924, ending the era of horse-drawn transport in Australia.

The last ever journey, 65 kilometers from Surat to Yuleba in Southern Queensland.

This One Dollar coin released by the Royal Australian Mint is to commemorate Cobb & Co transport and the last journey taken by Cobb & Co. passenger service in 1924.