Nothing was going to stop Col Anderson from realising a long-time dream of taking part in a recreation of the final Cobb & Co mail run — not even a broken leg.
Ms Anderson is one of over a hundred people taking part in the historic event in Queensland’s Maranoa region this weekend.
The Grantham wagon rider had been training her two ponies for months but with just weeks to go, disaster struck.
Col Anderson broke her tibia just a few weeks before the run. (ABC News: Tobi Loftus)
“One pony went through the puddle, the other wanted to go around … and he broke a pole,” she said.
“I jumped up and stood on the brakes … I slipped, landed on all fours and cracked my tibia.”
One ambulance ride later, the keen horsewoman had one plate and six screws inserted into her leg.
She says just one thought went through her head as the accident occurred.
“Oh f***,” she said.
The town of Surat hosted a Cobb & Co Festival across August to commemorate the final ride in 1924. (ABC News: Tobi Loftus)
Before the internet, before phones, before cars and buses – Cobb & Co was Australia’s way of staying connected.
Its horse-drawn carriages galloped up and down the country, delivering mail and acting as a form of public transport.
But with the emergence of new technology, it all came to an end in August 1924, when the final mail run took place between the small Queensland town of Surat and the nearby, even smaller town of Yuleba – 76 kilometres away.
This Cobb & Co coach was restored by Steve Ralph. He says he traded it for an old car, and reckons it’s now worth $400,000. (ABC News: Tobi Loftus)
Mail run a century on
Now 100 years on, Ms Anderson is one of hundreds of people, and horses, helping to recreate that historic final run.
“There was no way in the world I was going to miss out on this ride,” she said.
“I’ve waited four and a half years to get here.”
As part of the centennial run, a replica Cobb & Co coach collected mail and passengers before hitting the road to Yuleba. (ABC News: Tobi Loftus)
Ms Anderson is driving a Jimboomba Royal Mail Wagonette for the ride, with fellow enthusiast Steve Ralph in the lead carriage – a replica Cobb & Co coach called Leviathan, which he restored himself.
The carriage is carrying both mail and paying members of the public as part of the recreation.
“Cobb & Co was a way of life. A better way of life,” Mr Ralph said.
“It was very important [for Australia]. They had mail, they had gold, they carried freight. They were the lifeline. Every second day there were coaches going through the area.
“They even supported people in the bush with urgent medical stuff.”
Wagon restorer and local history buff Steve Ralph says he’s known to many people as “Mr Cobb & Co”. (ABC News: Tobi Loftus)
At its peak, there were about 600 coaches in the fleet, with almost 60,000 horses helping to pull them, Mr Ralph said.
While it’s been 100 years since the famed mail run ended, Graham Hancock from the Surat Post Office still does almost the exact same run twice a week – in a ute.
“It’s far more comfortable than what it was in the old days with the coach,” he said.
Graham Hancock still does the Surat to Yuleba mail run … albeit in a much more comfortable ute. (ABC News: Tobi Loftus)
“A hundred years ago, it took two days by the time they did the round circuit, where as we do it today in four and a half hours, plus we probably go an extra 250km to what they used to.
“And people get that service two times a week. It’s a far better service nowadays.”
For Col Anderson, recreating the historic run would never have been possible if her family and friends hadn’t jump in to support her with her injury.
“I’m going to be driving the horses in the wagon still [and] Mum’s still going to be sitting in the back seat as a passenger,” she said.
Many participants in the recreation wore period outfits. (ABC News: Tobi Loftus)
A big crowd gathered in Surat on Saturday morning to watch the riders leave.
Many took photos and cheered on the main coach, which was filled to the brim with passengers.
One young boy said he was visiting from Dublin, Ireland, as his great-grandparents had a connection to the area.
The ride is set to conclude on Sunday afternoon in Yuleba.
