Cobb and Co coach

The National Museum's 1880s Cobb and Co Concord coach. Photo: George Serras.

Cobb and Co coaches played an important part in Australia's transport and communication history. This 1880s Concord model was used as a mail coach in northern New South Wales and has a rich connection to a star of the screen.

The Concord's leather suspension, designed for the rough conditions of the American west, was ideal for the dirt roads of the Australian outback. Originally owned by the Nowland family in the 1880s, this coach travelled hundreds of kilometres of rough roads between Coonabarabran and Gunnedah, and possibly as far afield as Murrurundi and Narrabri.

What has made the coach a real favourite among National Museum staff is its role in the 1920 silent bushranger film The Man from Kangaroo. The film was shot near the coach's original home, near Gunnedah, and further south in Kangaroo Valley. The film stars Snowy Baker, an Australian boxer and all-round sportsman of the 1920s and 1930s. Baker performed many spectacular stunts in the film, including a notable leap into the river, holding the film's heroine, from the roof of the coach as it crossed Hampden Bridge in Kangaroo Valley.

Historically the Concord coach is a significant example of a particular type of horse era technology. The Concord model, built in Concord, New Hampshire, in the United States, was the first style of coach to use 'thoroughbrace' suspension technology. Prior to the Concord, coach suspension consisted of steel springs which were well-suited to paved and cobbled roads in England. The rougher conditions of the American west demanded a different system as coaches with steel spring suspension jolted violently on ruts and bumps. Thoroughbrace suspension used thick bullock hide leather straps which more effectively cushioned its passengers, although its swaying and rolling motion could cause 'sea sickness'.

This flexible suspension had the further benefit of reducing the weight on the wheels and the strain on the horses, an important factor for travelling the vast distances of the frontier. Since Australian road conditions were similar to those in the American west, the Cobb and Co coach company realised the potential of the Concord in an Australian market and they released their first Concord in Australia in 1854.

These technical apsects of the coach would have made the Concord held by the National Museum ideal for transporting mail in the Australian outback. The Concord was designed to deal with the unsealed dirt roads, full of potholes and ruts, which were typical in northern New South Wales in the 1880s. The Concords had a top speed of 15 miles (about 24 kilometres an hour). This was an incredible speed for the time, which would have allowed fast delivery of the mail in an era before telegraphic technology.

The Concord coach is believed to have travelled as far afield as Murrurundi, which is infamous for its connection to the notorious bushranger Ben Hall, who spent his childhood there. Although by the 1880s bushranging had significantly declined in New South Wales, a mail coach was held up by bushrangers as late as 1910. So, the threat of bushrangers to this coach could still have been a real fear for the Nowland family.

The Man from Kangaroo was shot near the coach's original home around Gunnedah, and in Kangaroo Valley. The film, held in the National Film and Sound Archives of Australia collection, showcases the natural beauty of these areas. Apart from his sporting career, Snowy Baker was interested in building the Australian film industry and he co-founded Caroll-Baker Australian Productions to realise his dream.

The Man from Kangaroo features Baker in the role of John Harland, a boxing parson from Kalmaroo whose romantic interest, Muriel Hammond, is played by American film star Brownie Vernon. Baker's famous athletic abilities were put to good use through spectacular stunts, all performed by him, including diving into a rock pool, boxing villains and riding his horse 'Boomerang' at breakneck speeds along dusty bush tracks in pursuit of bushrangers.

The film features a coach stunt on Hampden Bridge, a heritage-listed suspension bridge on the Moss Vale road, which is still in use today. Vernon has been abducted by cattle-rustling bushrangers and taken away in the coach. Baker follows in hot pursuit, gaining on the villains and defeating all but Vernon's kidnapper, who she deftly overcomes upon Baker's arrival. To make their escape, Baker and Vernon leap from the roof of the coach as it moves over Hampden Bridge, plunging into the Shoalhaven River below. The film was a local success and the footage of the coach stunt features in the National Museum's display of the coach during Floriade 2007.

Closer inspection of the National Museum's Concord coach shows that the manufacturer's plate and any other insignia have been painted over. Taking this into account, and by comparing the coach's colour to others from the same era, Museum conservators found the coach had probably received other modifications over time.

Museum staff are working to determine whether these changes occurred during its life as a mail coach or for its role in the film. Ongoing research is being scheduled. X-ray imaging will be used to determine the coach's original paint colour, whether other structural modifications have occurred and to confirm its manufacturer.

Cinnamon van Reyk
Curator