Over Alps and Plains in Cobb's Name

A History of the Old Coaching Days in Canterbury and Westland.

Over Alps and Plains in Cobb’s Name covers the rich history of the old coaching days in Canterbury and Westland. It outlines the start of Cobb & Co in the region, describing the main long-distance coach routes from Christchurch, including those to Mt Cook, Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers, Greymouth, Hanmer Springs, Kaikoura, Akaroa and Timaru.

Peter Savage covers the subject in intimate detail—including a description of the alpine section over Arthur’s Pass, the stable rules for the care of horses, and duties of the coach drivers and grooms. He also delves into how travel and transport influenced settlement, and how floods, snow, landslides and earthquakes impacted the landscape. Filled with images collected over Peter’s twenty-plus years of research, Over Alps and Plains in Cobb’s Name gives the reader an insight into the New Zealand stagecoach era, which came to an end over a hundred years ago.