Stepping back in time to celebrate centenary

By Rob Fairchild’s own admission, 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.

Rob Fairchild, who runs Rob’s Carriages, has put together a four day tour with his replica Cobb & Co coach to mark the centenary of the final Cobb & Co coach run on the regular route between Yuleba and Surat in Queensland.

That was in 1924 and Rob is set to visit five primary schools as he embarks on the four day trip from Mil Lel to Penola to mark the milestone.

And it won’t just be a step back in time from a transport perspective, but it will be 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 aa bit of history to real life,” Rob said. “It is teaching them about what used to happen.”

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

Rob is also hopeful plenty of other horsemen and vehicles will sign on to join him on the journey which he has titled Rob & Co Mail Run and more details can be reached by contacting Rob through his facebook page Rob’s Carriages.

Potential sponsors to help fund the postcards and stamps and other tour costs can also contact Rob through that social media account.

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.”