Cobb & Co. (New Zealand)

Last updated

Cobb & Co is the name of a company that operated a fleet of stagecoaches in Australia in the late 19th century. Cobb & Co itself did not operate in New Zealand officially but its name was used by many private stage coach operators.

History

Gold transport and escort Roxburgh 1901 Gold escort, Roxburgh, Central Otago - Photograph taken by J H Ingley, 1901.jpg
Gold transport and escort Roxburgh 1901
Cobb & Co coach at Palmerston, Otago in the 1880s William P. Hart - (Cobb and Co. coach, Palmerston, Otago) - Google Art Project.jpg
Cobb & Co coach at Palmerston, Otago in the 1880s

In 1861, the discovery of gold in Gabriel's Gully, Otago, prompted a gold rush and saw many Australian gold-diggers heading for the port of Dunedin. Among these was the Cobb & Co coach proprietor Charles Cole, who had been running a service from Smythe's Creek to Ballarat in Australia. He chartered the steamship SS India at Geelong and on 4 October 1861 landed in Dunedin with one Concord stagecoach, five wagons, a buggy and 34 horses.

A vast improvement in comfort because of their style of suspension suited to extremely rough roads, the new American Concord coaches were built by Abbot-Downing Company of Concord, New Hampshire. Like other fully equipped stagecoaches each had a centre door with a glass window which could be raised or lowered and the openings on either side had curtains of American leather which rolled up and down to keep out the weather. The interior was upholstered in crimson plush, while the outside was painted red, with gold ornamentation. A box seat and roof seat allowed the coach to carry five extra outside passengers, with six to nine seated on benches inside.

One week after landing, Cole's first "Cobb & Co Telegraph Line of Coaches" left the Provincial Hotel, Dunedin for the Police Commissioner's Camp at Gabriel's Gully. Changing stations for the horses had already been arranged at the Reliance Hotel, Otokia at Tokomairiro, Round Hill and Waitahuna.

In February 1862, the Hoyts came to New Zealand, landing their coach and horses at Bluff. They moved to Dunedin when they found there was no direct route to reach the gold diggings from there and linked up in partnership with C.Cole, trading as Cole, Hoyt & Co., proprietors of Cobb & Co. Telegraph Line of Coaches.

The passenger coach service began to operate on a regular basis from Dunedin to Waikouaiti. Passengers who travelled on this line for Oamaru and beyond, were transferred to a light two horse wagon for the final part of their journey, where they were met by private contractors to take them to the Ferry Service at Waitaki.

Concord-style stagecoach preserved in Toitu, Dunedin Stagecoach in Toitu (8564368798).jpg
Concord-style stagecoach preserved in Toitū, Dunedin

By April 1862, Hoyt decided to put a four horse coach team on the run, with a service of three times a week at a fare of £3 each way. The route lay through Palmerston and over the Horse Range where stops were made at the Hampden Hotel and the Otepopo Inn, before the leg to the Northern Hotel, Oamaru or on to the Waitaki River Ferry Service.

By 1863 a reasonable roadway had been cut through from Timaru to Christchurch. A Cobb & Co coachline in Timaru soon opened up with a passenger service on this route running to the north. Within a short time the coachline advertised additional services south to the River Ferry at Waitaki so linking the route with the Dunedin/Oamaru coach-teams from the lower South Island. [1]

Lady Barker recalled a hair-raising coach trip in the 1860s. [2]

The advent of motorised transport led to the inevitable decline in stage coach travel. The last advertised Cobb & Co coach runs were Arrowtown-Queenstown and Arrowtown-Dunedin in February 1925. [3] A Cobb & Co coach was paraded through Christchurch during their 75th anniversary celebrations in 1925.

Concord coaches have been preserved at the Fairlie Heritage Museum [4] and Toitū Otago Settlers Museum. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otago</span> Region of New Zealand

Otago is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately 32,000 square kilometres (12,000 sq mi), making it the country's second largest local government region. Its population was 246,000 in June 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oamaru</span> Town in Otago, New Zealand

Oamaru is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is 80 kilometres (50 mi) south of Timaru and 120 kilometres (75 mi) north of Dunedin on the Pacific coast; State Highway 1 and the railway Main South Line connect it to both cities. With a population of 13,900, Oamaru is the 28th largest urban area in New Zealand, and the third largest in Otago behind Dunedin and Queenstown. The town is the seat of Waitaki District, which includes the surrounding towns of Kurow, Weston, Palmerston, and Hampden. which combined have a total population of 23,200.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cobb & Co</span>

Cobb & Co was the name used by many successful sometimes quite independent Australian coaching businesses. The first was established in 1853 by American Freeman Cobb and his partners. The name Cobb & Co grew to great prominence in the late 19th century, when it was carried by many stagecoaches carrying passengers and mail to various Australian goldfields, and later to many regional and remote areas of the Australian outback. The same name was used in New Zealand and Freeman Cobb used it in South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otago Gold Rush</span> 1860s gold rush in Central Otago, New Zealand

The Otago Gold Rush was a gold rush that occurred during the 1860s in Central Otago, New Zealand. This was the country's biggest gold strike, and led to a rapid influx of foreign miners to the area – many of them veterans of other hunts for the precious metal in California and Victoria, Australia.

Port FM was a local radio station based in Timaru, New Zealand that broadcast throughout South Canterbury and the MacKenzie Country. It also operated as a network with sister-stations in Ashburton and Oamaru known as 'Port FM Local'. Port FM's music genre was contemporary rock and pop, with the bulk of the weekday playlist made up of music from the mid eighties through the early nineties. The main station was used as a network feed for Port FM Local in Ashburton and Oamaru during breakfast, nights and weekends.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Kevin's College, Oamaru</span> Integrated co-educational secondary school in Oamaru, New Zealand

St Kevin's College in Oamaru, New Zealand, is a Catholic, coeducational, integrated, boarding and day, secondary school. It was founded by the Christian Brothers in 1927 for boys and became a co-educational school in 1983 after the Dominican Sisters closed down St Parick's College, Teschemakers, Oamaru. St Kevin's College became a state integrated school in 1983. The Christian Brothers ceased to be on the teaching staff of the college in the late 1990s but remained the school's proprietor, and so appointed representatives to the college board, until 2019 when they transferred the ownership of St Kevin's College to the Bishop of Dunedin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Main South Line</span> Railway line in New Zealand

The Main South Line, sometimes referred to as part of the South Island Main Trunk Railway, is a railway line that runs north and south from Lyttelton in New Zealand through Christchurch and along the east coast of the South Island to Invercargill via Dunedin. It is one of the most important railway lines in New Zealand and was one of the first to be built, with construction commencing in the 1860s. At Christchurch, it connects with the Main North Line to Picton, the other part of the South Island Main Trunk.

The Timaru Herald is a daily provincial newspaper serving the Timaru, South Canterbury and North Otago districts of New Zealand. The current audited daily circulation is about 14,500 copies, with a readership of about 31,000 people. The paper is owned by media company Stuff Ltd.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Steward (New Zealand politician)</span> New Zealand politician

Sir William Jukes Steward was a New Zealand politician and the first Liberal Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives. He represented South Canterbury electorates in Parliament for a total of 34 years, before being appointed to the Legislative Council. He served briefly on the Otago Provincial Council and was Mayor of Oamaru for three years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otago Province</span> Province of New Zealand

The Otago Province was a province of New Zealand until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. The capital of the province was Dunedin. Southland Province split from Otago in 1861, but became part of the province again in 1870.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Zealand Railways Road Services</span>

The New Zealand Railways Road Services (NZRRS) was a branch of the New Zealand Railways Department and later the New Zealand Railways Corporation. It operated long-distance, tourist and suburban bus services and freight trucking and parcel services. Its name was New Zealand Railways Road Motor Service until mid-1936.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oamaru Airport</span> Airport in Oamaru

Oamaru Airport is an airport located 20 km north of Oamaru alongside State Highway 1, at Hilderthorpe in the North Otago region and the Waitaki District of New Zealand.

Architecture of New Zealand is the built environment of regions, cities and towns of New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Public transport in New Zealand</span>

Public transport in New Zealand exists in many of the country's urban areas and takes a number of forms. Bus transport is the main form of public transport. Two major cities, Auckland and Wellington also have suburban rail systems that have been gaining more patronage and new investment in recent years. Some cities also operate local ferry services. There are no rapid transit metros and no remaining tram systems active anywhere in New Zealand, though trams once had a major role in New Zealand's public transport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waitaki (New Zealand electorate)</span> Electoral district in Otago and Canturbury, New Zealand

Waitaki is an electorate for the New Zealand House of Representatives that crosses the boundary of North Otago and South Canterbury towns on the East Coast of the South Island. The electorate was first established for the 1871 election that determined the 5th New Zealand Parliament. It has been abolished and re-established several times and in its early years was a two-member electorate for two parliamentary terms. The current electorate has existed since the 2008 election and is held by Jacqui Dean of the National Party.

Frederick Ridley Dennison (1876–1960) was an Oamaru mechanical engineer who designed and built New Zealand's first indigenous motor car in 1900 and first bus in 1906.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Railway refreshment room</span>

A railway refreshment room is a catering facility attached to a railway station that was formerly common in Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries that were formerly part of the British Empire. They were opened in the 19th century to serve passengers when trains did not convey catering facilities, and thus served passengers en route. Refreshment rooms were similar to tearooms, and generally served a variety of hot drinks, pastries, cakes, and light meals. With the introduction of buffet and restaurant cars, their importance began to decline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Dash</span> New Zealand politician and coachbuilder

George Dash was a New Zealand politician and coachbuilder who served twice as Mayor of Waimate, from 1917 to 1919 and from 1925 to 1941.

References

  1. Flude, Anthony (2001). "Cobb & Co. Stagecoach – Early coach travel in New Zealand". Archived from the original on 11 June 2007. Retrieved 3 August 2007.
  2. "Coaching Days: A nerve-wracking experience". Papers Past (National Library of New Zealand. 2023.
  3. Royal Mail Coach Lake Country Press, 5 February 1925
  4. MacDuff, Keiller (13 June 2022). "Historic stagecoach and old-fashioned horsepower return to the streets of Fairlie". Stuff. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  5. "Stagecoach; Cobb and Co.; 1941/74/1 on NZ Museums". eHive. Retrieved 9 January 2023.