16 – 25 August 2024
Cobb & Co Festival, Media Release, 30 April 2024
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.
- What: 2024 Cobb & Co Centenary Festival
- Where: Maranoa Region – including the towns of Surat and Yuleba
- When: Friday 16th August – Sunday 25th August
- More info: www.cobbandcofestival.com.au (tickets on-sale from today, April 30, 2024)
