People are already asking: might the old Cobb and Co coach which once rattled through the town, “refuelling” horses and humans at the Central Hotel, come back to Glen Innes?
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Could there be crowd-funding of a bid? Might the actor want to donate it to the town which once it served?
Glen Innes was a big staging post for Cobb and Co coaches which were the main means of fare-taking public transport in northern New South Wales, Queensland and beyond as the region was settled.
There is a famous picture by the artist Tom Roberts of a coach being held up, and that may well have involved a Glen Innes to Inverell coach.
Perhaps the one Russell Crowe has collected – and now wants to sell (or perhaps donate, people in Glen Innes wonder).
The Hollywood star says on Twitter: “You ever look around and think ... bloody hell I’ve got a lot of stuff... yeah, me too.”
And he’s made the big decision to de-clutter. He says on Twitter: “April 7th next year I’ll be having an auction .Career stuff, stuff I’ve collected and stuff in general . Paintings, Aubrey’s violin, watches ... if you like stuff, save the date”.
He’s going to sell his fascinating collection on April 7. He calls it a garage sale but it’ll be some garage sale. Details aren’t clear. Is there an auction house involved?
“For 70 years from the 1850s to the 1920s, Cobb & Co. coaches were a principle means of transport in the colonies of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria," The Australian government’s history site says.
“Settlers moving inland, new immigrants hopeful of success on the gold fields, shearers, agents, squatters, children and their parents—everyone used Cobb & Co. stage coaches to move, as efficiently as was possible, around the colonies.”
We talked to the Visitor Centre in Glen Innes about the upcoming sale and Peter Teschner, the manager of tourism and events, said he was very keen on the vehicle returning to town.
Watch this space.