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Cobb & Co Festival, Media Release, 22 July 2024
Recognising the Centenary of the iconic Cobb & Co, who played a vital role in Australia’s royal mail service, a special commemorative Cobb & Co ‘Carrying mail on Australia’s Last Run’ – First Day cover and Maxicard stamp sets with Surat Postmark will be released by Australia Post on August 13 to celebrate the 100-year milestone and Australia’s last coach run.
The new stamps will form part of the centenary celebrations at the Cobb & Co Festival which will run from Friday August 16 through to Sunday August 25 in the Maranoa region, 500km west of Brisbane. The all-ages family friendly festival culminates on August 24 and 25 with a re-creation of the last Cobb & Co mail run in Australia.
Photos: Cobb & Co Festival
The Cobb & Co stamp range will include a minisheet ($3), first day cover ($3.30), stamp presentation pack ($6.45), maxicard set ($4.50) and postal numismatic cover (RAM- $18.95) as well as individual stamps for $1.50 each. The stamps will be sold through selected Post Office – only 7,000 of the numismatic covers will be released, and these will include the Australia Post stamps as well as a special edition coin from the Royal Australian Mint.
The limited edition Royal Australian Mint commemorative Cobb & Co coin will also be released at the end of July ahead of the centenary festival. The $1 collectable coin will feature Cobb & Co imagery and King Charles 111 on the reverse. More information on the coin will be released on Wednesday 31st July.
Set to become a sort after collectors coin, only 35,000 coins are being minted for the special occasion.
“It’s fantastic to have the Cobb & Co centenary and our festival recognised by both Australia Post and the Mint. Both the limited-edition stamps and the coin will be incredibly collectable and a lasting memento of the 100-year anniversary for Cobb & Co,” said Paul Masson, Cobb & Co Centenary festival organiser.
“And from a practical point of view the Cobb & Co stamp can be used to send mail Surat to be delivered to Yuleba on our Cobb & Co re-enactment stagecoach when the festival kicks off in August.”
The historic Cobb & Co mail run re-enactment will be a 76 km trip – broken into 7 legs of approximately 10-12 kms – that will be undertaken by a replica Cobb & Co Coach and team of five specially trained horses between the picturesque towns of Surat and Yuleba on the Cobb & Co Way on August 24 and 25.
Schools, history buffs, stamp collectors and punters looking for a unique experience are encouraged to mail, or hand deliver, a letter to the Surat Post Office to be collected and delivered to the Yuleba Post Office on the replica Cobb & Co coach.
“The envelope needs to be clearly marked that it is for the Cobb & Co mail delivery, and will be collected at the Surat Post office ready for the August departure of the Cobb & Co stagecoach,” added Paul Masson.
The special Cobb & Co coach will be pulled by three different teams of five horses who will be rotated on every 10 km stop throughout the two-day trip. The replica Cobb & Co coach will follow a spectacular cavalcade of more than 300 on horseback, in buggies and on wagon and bullocks to the Yuleba Post Office.
“We hope the coach and convoy of riders can run the gauntlet of bushrangers safely to make this mail run,” joked Paul Masson.
The closing date to drop mail, or have it reach Surat Post Office via Australia Post, is Friday August 23.
The festival will immerse attendees in the rich tapestry of Australia’s pioneering heritage, paying homage to the remarkable legacy of Australia’s last horse-drawn mail service.
The special ten-day Cobb & Co Festival will kick off on Friday August 16 with a long table dinner under the stars in Yuleba’s main street and will include the Heritage Trail Ride and unforgettable Cobb & Co coach rides on this journey, the Festival Concert, period dress-up, a gala ball event, live entertainment with an open-air concert, performances from the Crack Up Sisters, a bowls day, movie night, bullock rides, a horse art exhibition, markets and a mini-show day, bush poetry, clay shooting, vintage cars and more.
The long table dinner will feature a new Stagecoach Gin that is being launched at the Brisbane Gin Festival at the end of this month. The Stagecoach Gin will be used to create a special welcome cocktail on arrival, as well as being offered for-sale via the event cocktail bar.
The Stagecoach Gin will also be served via the event bar at a camp Over dinner that is part of the event program.
The event program also includes camping options that can be pre-booked ahead of attending the festival.
Staged every 5 years since 2009 the Cobb & Co festival has been building to its biggest iteration in 2024 with the centenary celebrations.
Photos: Cobb & Co Festival
Program highlights include:
The historic Cobb & Co re-enactment journey – A 76 km trip – broken into 7 legs of approximately 10-12 kms – will be undertaken by a replica Cobb & Co Coach and team of five specially trained horses between Surat and Yuleba on the Cobb & Co Way on August 24 and 25. This unique trip will give ticket holders the opportunity to experience travel from a by-gone era with the final leg taking passengers into Yuleba for the Cobb & Co Festival Finale.
The horse drawn coach will be accompanied by hundreds of riders on horseback as well as other coaches creating an amazing spectacle taking in a stretch of Outback Queensland that has a rich history with Cobb & Co.
Each leg of the trip will stop at a changing station to allow a swap over of passengers as well as a fresh team of horses for the next leg. Shuttle busses will be available to transfer passengers as they disembark and join the historic journey. Tickets range from $245 to $375 pp, offering various seating options.
Historic Cobb & Co way trail riders event – This event will accompany the Historic Cobb & Co coach re-enactment journey. It will depart Surat to ‘Travel the Cobb & Co Way’ – ‘Camp under the Stars at Wallabella – Cobb & Co Camp’ and ride into Yuleba for the ‘Cobb & Co Festival Finale Fun Day’.
For Trail Ride participants and support crew, there is overnight camping under the stars at Wallabella Cobb & Co camp with a camp oven dinner as part of this journey.
This special ride will take place on August 24 and 25on the 76km stretch of Cobb & Co Way. Prices are $50 pp for adults and $15 Child/Support Crew.
Santos/MPK Cobb & Co long table dinner – This special long-table dinner will be staged on sunset and then under the stars in Yuleba’s main street.
Tickets are $70 pp for a delicious two-course dinner, complemented by live music and canapes and a cocktail on arrival.
The Shell QGC Cobb & Co Festival concert – An electrifying night of entertainment under the stars from headline Whiskey Mountain Bous and a special guest appearance by Josh Arnold and a local choir singing ‘Cobb & Co Country’ will be staged at the Warroo Sporting Complex in Surat on August 23rd.
Ticket prices are just $40 pp (Adult) and child 12-17yo is $15pp and an Adult at the door will be $45. Children aged 11 and under are free to attend but must be registered for their free ticket online.
A special event bringing together descendants of those who shared in the history of Cobb & Co in Australia will also take place at the Yuleba Hotel and at Surat’s New Royal Hotel.
“Back in the day the Cobb & Co coach drivers had to battle bushrangers and extreme conditions in isolated regions to provide the all-important mail delivery service throughout the Outback. Our re-creation is going to be much easier and more celebratory – but will be a definite nod to the essential and often dangerous service Cobb & Co drivers provided 100+ years ago.
Our participants will make the trip across two days – camping in the bush on the journey, just as the travellers did all those decades ago. It’s going to be a once in a lifetime ride-along experience for keen horse riders, and for festival goers to witness the spectacle,” added festival organiser Paul Masson.
A special song written and performed by Golden Guitar-winning country music singer Josh Arnold for the Cobb & Co Centenary Celebrations titled Cobb & Co Country (see music clip here Cobb & Co Country) has already been released and hit #1 on the Australian Country Radio charts.
- What: 2024 Cobb & Co Centenary Festival
- Where: Maranoa Region – including the towns of Surat and Yuleba
- When: Friday 16th August – Sunday 25th August
- More info: www.cobbandcofestival.com.au (tickets are available from this site)
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