Statistics:
- Length:
- 125 km
- Termini:
- Eastern: Warrego Hwy (Darren Lockyer Way) (A2) and Mt Crosby Rd (SR37), North Tivoli
- Western: Lindsay St (TD1) and Warren St, East Toowoomba, outside the Cobb and Co Museum
- Miscellaneous:
- Route taken: Lindsay St, Bridge St, New England Hwy, Murphys Creek Rd, Toowoomba Connection Rd, Warrego Hwy, Gatton-Helidon Rd, Western Dr, Railway St, Spencer St, Eastern Dr, Gatton-Laidley Rd West, Forest Hill-Fernvale Rd, Glenore Grove Rd, Railway St, Hunt St, Gordon St, Victoria St, Gatton-Laidley Rd East, Whites Rd, Patrick St, Vaux St, Drayton St, Rosewood-Laidley Rd, Railway St, Simes St, Lanefield Rd, Walloon Rd, Karrabin-Rosewood Rd, Queen St, Karrabin-Rosewood Rd, Toongarra Rd, Old Toowoomba Rd, Brisbane St, Limestone St, East St, Pine St, The Terrace, Downs St, Delacy St, Tantivy St and Mt Crosby Rd
- Suburbs, Towns & Localities Along Route:
- East Toowoomba, North Toowoomba, Toowoomba, Harlaxton, Mount Kynoch, Blue Mountain Heights, Ballard, Murphys Creek, Upper Lockyer, Lockyer, Postmans Ridge, Helidon Spa, Helidon, Grantham, Gatton, Forest Hill, Laidley, Grandchester, Calvert, Lanefield, Rosewood, Thagoona, Walloon, Karrabin, Wulkuraka, Leichhardt, West Ipswich, Ipswich, North Ipswich, Tivoli and North Tivoli
Route Numbering:
- Current:
- Multiplexed with: A2 A3 A21 37 38 62 80
- Former: 54 54 15 15
- Road Authority Internal Classification:
- 18A (Helidon Spa to Helidon) 1
- 22A (Toowoomba to North Toowoomba) 1
- 302 (Ipswich to North Ipswich) 2
- 308 (Laidley to Rosewood) 2
- 312 (Gatton to Laidley) 2
- 314 (Helidon to Gatton) 1
- 315 (Postmans Ridge to Helidon Spa) 1
- 3002 (Rosewood to Wulkuraka) 2
- 3042 (North Ipswich to North Tivoli) 2
- 4014 (Blue Mountain Heights to Postmans Ridge) 1
General Information:
The Cobb and Co Tourist Drive forms one of the original routes between Ipswich and Toowoomba. It passes through several small towns, and consists almost two-lane undivided rural road, suburban arterial road and divided highway standards.
The route, in part, traces the steps of the famous Cobb and Co coaches, which were awarded the first ever mail route in Queensland. 3
The first Cobb & Co mail service in Queensland operated from Brisbane to Ipswich. Passengers and mail heading further west were taken from Ipswich to Grandchester by train and then by another Cobb & Co coach for the rest of the journey to Toowoomba. 3
After the railway line from Brisbane to the Darling Downs was completed in 1875, Cobb & Co operated from the western railheads, carrying passengers and mail to many outback towns and settlements. 3
Up to 40 horses and 6 staff were needed for an average day's journey of about 80 kilometres. Teams of horses were changed at depots spaced every 25 to 40 kilometres along the routes. At its peak Cobb & Co owned thousands of horses and numerous coaches, workshops, offices and stables and employed hundreds of drivers, grooms, coach builders and office staff. 3
Cobb & Co completed its last coach run on August 14 1924, from Surat to Yuleba in south-west Queensland. The company was wound up in 1929. 3
Multiplexes along the route include:
- A2 for 5 km, between Helidon Spa and Helidon.
- A3 for 2 km, between North Toowoomba and Blue Mountain Heights.
- A21 for 3 km from Postmans Ridge to Helidon Spa.
- State Route 37 for 4 km, between North Ipswich and North Tivoli
- State Route 38 for 2 km, between Ipswich and North Ipswich
- State Route 62 for 6 km, between Wulkuraka and Ipswich.
- State Route 80, for 8 km, between Grantham and Gatton.
History:
- 1 January 1866: The Cobb and Co mail route between Brisbane to Ipswich and then Grandchester to Toowoomba commenced. 3
- 22 May 1947: Rosewood Laidley Road was proclaimed a "Secondary Road" under the Main Roads Acts 1920-1943 on 22 May 1947, and the powers originally vested in the Little Liverpool Main Road Board were assumed by the Commissioner for Main Roads. 4
- 1965: David Trumpy Bridge across the Bremer River was opened, and the 1865 road bridge was demolished, leaving only its abutments. 5
- 1980s: Construction of the Southern Ipswich Bypass, with Cunningham Hwy eventually redirected along new bypass upon completion. 3 As a result, NR15 shifted to new route and the old one renumbered to BUS-NR15. 6
- 1985: Construction begins on Gatton Bypass. 7
- 1989: Gatton Bypass (current Warrego Hwy alignment) opens to traffic as a single carriageway route. 7
- May 2010: New traffic lights were turned on at the intersection of Toongarra Road and Aspinall Street in Leichhardt. 8
Click or tap the map to enable panning and zooming
1 QLD Government, Department of Transport & Main Roads, Queensland state-controlled roads and region maps, Darling Downs District, November 2022.
2 QLD Government, Department of Transport & Main Roads, Queensland state-controlled roads and region maps, Metropolitan District, November 2022.
3 Lockyer Valley Council Cobb & Co Tourist Drive Brochure.
4 QLD Government, Queensland State Archives, Little Liverpool Main Road Board.
5 QLD Government, Environment & Resource Management, Queensland Heritage Register, Heiner Road Railway Overpass.
6 QLD Government, University of Southern Queensland, Library, The construction of the southern Ipswich bypass from Saunders Street to Deebing Creek thesis by Elton John Walker.
7 Lachlan Sims.
8 Ipswich City Council, Media Releases, Traffic lights to make it safer at Leichhardt intersection, 21 May 2010.