Cobb & Co Museum
Encyclopedia
The Cobb and Co Museum is located in Toowoomba
, Queensland
, Australia
. The museum was opened in 1987 when the Queensland Museum
was looking for space to display its catalogue of horse drawn vehicles. Instead of taking up the huge amount of space required to display the collection properly at its Brisbane
campus, the museum decided to open up a new campus in Toowoomba.
In 2001, a second stage was built onto the existing museum to create a space to display the history of Toowoomba and the Darling Downs. This extension brought the entire museum space to over 2000 square metres. The refurbished Cobb & Co Museum also allowed space to house the Museum Resource Centre for Southern Queensland.
An $8 million redevelopment of the Museum was undertaken in 2010. This included the construction of a custom designed 'Factory' area to house facilities for a range of heritage trades. Several additional galleries were also added at this point.
The museum now houses over fifty horse drawn vehicles, including sturdy drays and farm wagons, that tell the story of Europe
an settlement on the Darling Downs, while sulkies and buggies demonstrate transportation imported to Australia during the 1880s. Elaborate Phaetons, Victoria and Landau carriages give a glimpse of the grandeur of times when life's pace was a little slower. The original Cobb and Co
coaches, including the last coach which ran from Yuleba to Surat
in 1924, are the pride of the collection.
New galleries house a range of temporary exhibitions. One and two day workshops in heritage trades including blacksmithing, silversmithing, stonemasonry, millinery, leathercrafting, felting, glass art, calligraphy, leatherplaiting and creative bookmaking are conducted throughout the year.
Both the museum's name and its location in Toowoomba rather than Brisbane, derive from the fact that Toowoomba was the first stop of the Cobb & Co coach service that ran in from the southern cities to Queensland from 1866 until 1924.
The Cobb and Co Museum is part of the Queensland Heritage Trails Network and today is claimed to be home of Australia's finest collection of horse drawn vehicles.
Toowoomba, Queensland
Toowoomba is a city in Southern Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital city, Brisbane. With an estimated district population of 128,600, Toowoomba is Australia's second largest inland city and its largest non-capital inland city...
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The museum was opened in 1987 when the Queensland Museum
Queensland Museum
The Queensland Museum is the state museum of Queensland. The museum currently operates four separate campuses; at South Brisbane, Ipswich, Toowoomba and Townsville.The museum is funded by the State Government of Queensland.-History:...
was looking for space to display its catalogue of horse drawn vehicles. Instead of taking up the huge amount of space required to display the collection properly at its Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
campus, the museum decided to open up a new campus in Toowoomba.
In 2001, a second stage was built onto the existing museum to create a space to display the history of Toowoomba and the Darling Downs. This extension brought the entire museum space to over 2000 square metres. The refurbished Cobb & Co Museum also allowed space to house the Museum Resource Centre for Southern Queensland.
An $8 million redevelopment of the Museum was undertaken in 2010. This included the construction of a custom designed 'Factory' area to house facilities for a range of heritage trades. Several additional galleries were also added at this point.
The museum now houses over fifty horse drawn vehicles, including sturdy drays and farm wagons, that tell the story of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an settlement on the Darling Downs, while sulkies and buggies demonstrate transportation imported to Australia during the 1880s. Elaborate Phaetons, Victoria and Landau carriages give a glimpse of the grandeur of times when life's pace was a little slower. The original Cobb and Co
Cobb and Co
Cobb and Co is the name of a transportation company in Australia. It was prominent in the late 19th century when it operated stagecoaches to many areas in the outback and at one point in several other countries, as well....
coaches, including the last coach which ran from Yuleba to Surat
Surat
Surat , also known as Suryapur, is the commercial capital city of the Indian state of Gujarat. Surat is India's Eighth most populous city and Ninth-most populous urban agglomeration. It is also administrative capital of Surat district and one of the fastest growing cities in India. The city proper...
in 1924, are the pride of the collection.
New galleries house a range of temporary exhibitions. One and two day workshops in heritage trades including blacksmithing, silversmithing, stonemasonry, millinery, leathercrafting, felting, glass art, calligraphy, leatherplaiting and creative bookmaking are conducted throughout the year.
Both the museum's name and its location in Toowoomba rather than Brisbane, derive from the fact that Toowoomba was the first stop of the Cobb & Co coach service that ran in from the southern cities to Queensland from 1866 until 1924.
The Cobb and Co Museum is part of the Queensland Heritage Trails Network and today is claimed to be home of Australia's finest collection of horse drawn vehicles.