COBB & CO FESTIVAL TICKETING AND PROGRAM RELEASE CELEBRATING THE CENTENARY OF AN AUSTRALIAN ICON

Organisers of the Centenary celebrations for Outback Queensland’s last horse-drawn Cobb & Co mail coach have today announced the full ten-day program for the Cobb & Co Festival – with tickets to the event also going on-sale for the first time today at www.cobbandcofestival.com.au

The Cobb & Co Festival will run from Friday August 16 through to Sunday August 25 in the Maranoa region, 500km west of Brisbane.  The all-ages family friendly festival will culminate on August 24 and 25 with a re-creation of the last Cobb & Co mail run in Australia on the 76-kilometre Cobb & Co Way, an historic route that runs between the picturesque towns of Surat and Yuleba.

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

 The special Cobb & Co Festival will kick off on Friday August 16 with a long table dinner under the stars in Yuleba’s main street and will include the Heritage Trail Ride and unforgettable Cobb & Co coach rides on this journey, the Festival Concert, period dress-up, a gala ball event, live entertainment with an open-air concert, performances from the Crack Up Sisters, a bowls day, movie night, bullock rides, a horse art exhibition, markets and a mini-show day, bush poetry, clay shooting, vintage cars and more.

The event program also includes camping options that can be pre-booked from this week.

Staged every 5 years since 2009 the Cobb & Co festival has been building to its biggest iteration in 2024 with the centenary celebrations.

The festival will immerse attendees in the rich tapestry of Australia’s pioneering heritage, paying homage to the remarkable legacy of Australia’s last horse-drawn mail service.

Mail will be collected from the Surat Post Office by a Cobb & Co coach from the Surat Cobb & Co Changing Station Museum pulled by three different teams of five specially trained horses who will be rotated every 10 kms throughout the two-day trip.  The replica Cobb & Co coach will follow a spectacular cavalcade of more than 300 on horseback, in buggies and on wagon and bullocks to the Yuleba Post Office.

 

Program highlights include:

THE HISTORIC COBB & CO RE-ENACTMENT JOURNEY – A 76 km trip – broken into 7 legs of approximately 10-12 kms – 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 August 24 and 25.  This unique 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 taking in a stretch of Outback Queensland that has a rich history with Cobb & Co.

 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 pp, offering various seating options.

 

HISTORIC COBB & CO WAY TRAIL RIDERS EVENT – This event will accompany the Historic Cobb & Co coach re-enactment journey.  It will depart Surat to ‘Travel the Cobb & Co Way’ – ‘Camp under the Stars at Wallabella – Cobb & Co Camp’ and ride into Yuleba for the ‘Cobb & Co Festival Finale Fun Day’.

For Trail Ride participants and support crew, there is overnight camping under the stars at Wallabella Cobb & Co camp with a camp oven dinner as part of this journey.

This special ride will take place on August 24 and 25 on the 76km stretch of Cobb & Co Way.  Prices are $50 pp for adults and $15 Child/Support Crew.

 

SANTOS/MPK COBB & CO LONG TABLE DINNER – This special long-table dinner will be staged at sunset and then under the stars in Yuleba’s main street.

Tickets are $70 pp for a delicious two-course dinner, with canapes and a cocktail on arrival and accompanied by live music.

 

THE SHELL QGC COBB & CO FESTIVAL CONCERT – An electrifying night of entertainment under the stars from headline Whiskey Mountain Bous and a special guest appearance by Josh Arnold and a local choir singing ‘Cobb & Co Country’ will be staged at the Warroo Sporting Complex in Surat on August 23^rd.

Tickets to the festival concert are just $40 pp (Adult) and child 12-17yo is $15pp and an Adult at the door will be $45.  Children aged 11 and under are free to attend but must be registered for their free ticket online.

A special event bringing together descendants of those who shared in the history of Cobb & Co in Australia will also take place at the Yuleba Hotel and at Surat’s New Royal Hotel.

“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.  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+ 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,” added festival organiser Paul Masson.

A special song written and performed by Golden Guitar-winning country music singer Josh Arnold for the Cobb & Co Centenary Celebrations titled Cobb & Co Country (see music clip here Cobb & Co Country) has already been released and hit #1 on the Australian Country Radio charts.

 

What: 2024 Cobb & Co Centenary Festival

Where: Maranoa Region – including the towns of Surat and Yuleba

When: Friday 16^th August – Sunday 25^th August

More info: www.cobbandcofestival.com.au (tickets on-sale from today, April 30, 2024)

For further information and media images/vision – and to attend the Cobb & Co Festival please contact:

Kylie Edwards @ Cardinal Spin M: 0422 233 996 or E: kylie@cardinalcomms.com.au