12 September 2024
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Two $1.50 stamps have been released by Australia Post celebrating the centenary of the last Cobb & Co. coach on 14th August 1924.
The first stamp, dubbed ‘Surat – Yubela’ features a drawing of a Cobb & Co. coach, which has been taken from an 1857 company advertisement and is a nod to the route of the last coach taken in 1924. The other stamp ‘The Lights of Cobb & Co.’ features lines from the classic poem of the same name by poet Henry Lawson.
The set of 2 Cobb & Co stamps can be purchased from Australia Post for $3. Other items available in this issue include a mini sheet, a set of maxicards and a stamp pack.
Related article: Australian stamps celebrate Trans-Australian Railway centenary
Above: One of the stamps shows a Cobb & Co. coach, the image has been taken from an 1857 company advertisement
A history of Cobb & Co.
Cobb & Co. was created by 4 young Americans, including Freeman Cobb, in response to the gold rush of the 1850s in Victoria, when thousands of miners flocked to the area. The group began the company with coaches imported from the USA. The first horse-drawn coach ran on 30th January 1854 from Melbourne to the Castlemaine goldfields. As the business developed Cobb & Co’s coaches carries passengers, parcels, money and shipments of gold. The company expanded into New South Wales and Queensland and became one of the most extensive coaching networks in the world.
Related article: Australia Commemorates Expeditions with Stamps
Above: The second stamp includes lines from the classic poem 'The Lights of Cobb & Co' by Henry Lawson
Cobb & Co played a vital role in the Australian bush by delivering mail and other goods. However, they were unable to survive the rapid expansion of faster forms of transportation and communication. The last known horse-drawn coach ran from Surat to Yuleba, Queensland in 1924. Cobb & Co has become an established part of Australian folklore and today the name is used by a number of Australian bus operators.