History lesson hits the road

It will be a step back in time showcasing both transport and communication this coming week as Rob Fairchild spearheads a four-day mail run marking the centenary of the final Cobb & Co coach run on the regular route between Yuleba and Surat in Queensland.

Rob admits it is a hobby that has grown into an obsession and now his passion for horses and horse drawn vehicles is set to give local school children a glimpse into history courtesy of this four day mail run involving his replica Cobb & Co coach.

And it is not just a glimpse into the transport options of yesteryear but is also an insight into historical postal trends, with the local Philatelic Club designing and printing a stamp and postmark to commemorate the event with the children penning a letter which will be posted back to them from Penola once the coach arrives.

“Many of the kids would never have even got a letter or postcard in the mail and many would never have written a letter so it will be fun,” Rob said.

He was inspired to put together the school tour, which starts with Mil Lel Primary on April 8 and then visits Glencoe and Kalangadoo schools before finishing up on April 11 with visits to Penola Primary School and Mary MacKillop Memorial School, after a visit to Tenison Woods College last year proved so successful.

“We are just trying to introduce a bit of history to real life,” Rob said. “It is teaching them about what used to happen.”

The four day mail run also offers plenty of opportunity for the community to experience horse drawn heritage after the contingent leaves Mil Lel School on Monday morning.

On April 8 there is a visit to the Glencoe Woolshed, another bastion of preserved history, April 9 is centred on Kalangadoo, before April 10 sees a photoshoot at Kalangadoo Railway Station and a trip to Yallum Park, a stunning historical homestead on the outskirts of Penola for a night of poetry and story telling.

The mail will be delivered to the Penola Post Office at lunch time on April 11 before it wraps up with a visit to Pinchunga Aged Care.

Rob has also recruited other community members to join him on the cross country trek making for an impressive horse powered contingent recreating a time gone by.

He was part of Mundulla’s 150th celebrations in March last year and what started as a hobby has now become a small business, Rob’s Carriages, which is way busier than he every envisaged.

“I had never driven a four horse team but had 12 months to learn and that was the catalyst for the business,” he said.

“I am hoping to have the traditional five horse team for this school run as that was the standard for Cobb & Co.”

He also has a wedding carriage and a horse drawn lorry.

“Like anything with a hobby, it grew a lot faster than you ever imagine,” Rob said. “I definitely went down a rabbit hole.”

Rob’s services have been called upon for weddings and funerals, as well as a weekend at the Kingston Museum, where the coach saw 300 passengers, earlier this year, with the regular visits to the Glencoe Woolshed for community events and Yallum Park.

“It is actually even more popular for funerals than it is for weddings,” Rob said. “I think people really like having the horses involved, especially for people who spent their lives around horses.”

Cobb & Co’s story began in 1854 when American Freeman Cobb and his partners commenced the business providing transport between Melbourne and the goldfields.

“It quickly spread all over Australia,” Rob said. “Many people would not realise that their coaches were also in service in the South East of South Australia providing a valuable link for passengers and mail between Mount Gambier and Adelaide and Melbourne.”