The legend of Cobb & Co was up and running!

The biggest byword of Australian Coach history was Jim Rutherford who ran it for 58 years.

The rumble and rattle of coaches, the fast clip of strong horses, and the rigours of an arduous journey were under the pilotage of hard-bitten, raucously cheerful coachmen. 

This is the raw stuff of the biggest adventure of all – the opening up of Australia.

As research tells us, the first coach ran in 1814 and the first line set up in 1821. After 32 years of struggle came Cobb and Co, and with it brought an era of bursting development.

The company started in 1853. The managers were well paid; new centres were stating to be established.

Within a year Australia’s first railway opened on the same route so Cobb and Co went to the goldfields. For the next 50 years Cobb and Co expanded with a network of coaches across eastern Australia – from Adelaide to Normanton, from Broken Hill to Townsville.

Though the company kept the name of its founder, Freeman Cobb, the new driving force was a national monopoly and byword in Australian history – American Jim Rutherford.
 

Rutherford formed a syndicate and bought the company and controlled it for 58 years.
 

He dwarfed the distances of the outback by exploiting the natural advantages of the horse over the railway train. His team of drivers ran risks and looked adventures and perils in the eye in their stride to open up the Back of Beyond.

There were three things happened to Cobb and Co in the early 1900s. Rutherford had died, the motorcar was born, and the coaches had had their day.

The last one ran in 1924.

Cobb and Co was bigger than one man. It was George Train’s idea, Freeman Cobb’s creation, James Rutherford’s organisation, and every coach driver’s achievement.

For 71 years the coaches were part of the scene: they were here to stay.

When the last coach finished the final journey a legend was born.

> The legend of Cobb and Co, a storyline by Frank Greenop.
 

Cobb and Co: Quells the lack of walking