Organisers of the centenary celebrations for outback Queensland’s final horse-drawn mail coach have unveiled the 10-day program for the Cobb & Co. Festival.

The Cobb & Co. Festival will run from Friday 16 August to Sunday 25 August in the Maranoa region, 500km west of Brisbane.

The family-friendly festival will culminate on 24–25 August with a re-creation of the final Cobb & Co. mail run in Australia on the 76km Cobb & Co. Way, between Surat and Yuleba.

“We’re excited to be offering such a diverse program of activities and at a variety of price points,” said event organiser Paul Masson.

“There really is something for everyone – from seniors to families sharing a unique piece of Australia’s history with their children.

“We have free activities as well as events and experiences that are ticketed to make our celebrations as accessible as possible to everyone.”

Staged every five years since 2009, the Cobb & Co. Festival has been building to its biggest iteration in 2024 with the centenary celebrations.

A program highlight will be the Cobb & Co. Re-enactment Journey – a 76 km trip broken into seven legs which 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 24–25 August.

A Cobb & Co. coach between Surat and Yuleba in 1912.

The 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.

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 per person, offering various seating options.

“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,” Mr Masson said.

“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-plus 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.” 

A song written and performed by Golden Guitar-winning country music singer Josh Arnold for the Cobb & Co. Centenary Celebrations titled Cobb & Co Country has been released and hit No.1 on the Australian Country Radio charts.

Visit the Cobb and Co. Festival website for the full program of events and to buy tickets.