Freeman Cobb
Freeman Cobb (10 October 1830 – 24 May 1878)[1] was an American, born in Brewster, Massachusetts, who established the Cobb & Co stagecoach company in 1853 with partners , James Scanlon and . The company was based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and ran American-imported Concord coaches to and from the Victorian goldfields. Cobb returned to the United States after three and a half years but associates continued operating under the name Cobb & Company. He had introduced the use of Concord coaches to Australia and built a brand so strong the companies operated it until 1924.
In 1871 Cobb took his family to South Africa in 1871 to establish a Cobb & Co Ltd stagecoach service with Charles Cole, who had operated Cobb & Co coaches in New Zealand and Japan. The new company started operating between Port Elizabeth and the new diamond fields at Kimberley. Cobb died at Port Elizabeth in 1878.[1]
In popular culture[]
Cobb was the model for "Chris Cobb", lead character of the Australian TV series Whiplash, which premiered on Channel Seven on 18 February 1961, and starred Peter Graves as Cobb.[2]
References[]
- ^ a b Biography of Cobb, Freeman
- ^ Albert Moran (1993). Moran's Guide to Australian TV Series. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 0642184623.
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- 1830 births
- 1878 deaths
- American transportation businesspeople
- 19th-century Australian businesspeople
- 19th-century American businesspeople
- Australian business biography stubs