Cobb and Co
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Cobb and Co is the name of a transportation company in Australia. It was prominent in the late 1800s, when it operated stagecoaches to many areas in the outback, and at one point in several other countries, as well. It was established in 1853 by four Americans, including Freeman Cobb, but only rose to prominence when bought by James Rutherford and several partners.
The company was taken over in 1858 by a group consisting of; James Rutherford, Alexander William Robertson, John Wagner, Walter Russel Hall, William Franklin Whitney, and Walter Bradley.
Rutherford then re-organised and extended the Victorian services and secured a monopoly on the mail contracts.
In 1861 Rutherford proposed extending the business into NSW, but his partners opposed the plan. They reversed the decision following news of the Lambing Flat (Young) gold rush, and all of the business that it generated. Rutherford moved ten coaches from the Castlemaine Depot in Victoria to Bathurst in 1862, and re-established his headquarters there. He transported passengers from the railway station at Penrith, all the way to the new goldfields.
The name stands for "Cobb & company," although the period after "Co" is often omitted.
Its operations were eventually superseded by the development of the automobile and, in some areas, by railways. Their last horse-drawn coach service ran in 1924.
The company name has been resurrected in recent years and operates a long-distance bus service, with depots in Melbourne, Darwin and central Australia, and is currently owned by Dyson's Bus Services.