Cobb Highway is a state highway in the western Riverina and the far western regions of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, with a short section in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, Australia, designated part of route B75. Initially an amalgam of

stock route A stock route, also known as travelling stock route (TSR), is an authorised thoroughfare for the walking of domestic livestock such as sheep or cattle from one location to another in Australia. The stock routes across the country are colloquially ...

s, the highway extends from the Victorian border north across central New South Wales to

Wilcannia Wilcannia is a small town located within the Central Darling Shire in north western New South Wales, Australia. Located on the Darling River, the town was the third largest inland port in the country during the river boat era of the mid-19th ce ...

, and was named in honour of the

Cobb and Co Cobb & Co was the name used by many successful sometimes quite independent Australian coaching businesses. The first was established in 1853 by American Freeman Cobb and his partners. The name Cobb & Co grew to great prominence in the late 19th ...

stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...

company. The highway follows an old coach route through the Riverina, connecting the

Murray Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...

, Murrumbidgee and Lachlan rivers, and across the intervening plains to the

Darling River The Darling River ( Paakantyi: ''Baaka'' or ''Barka'') is the third-longest river in Australia, measuring from its source in northern New South Wales to its conflu ence with the Murray River at Wentworth, New South Wales. Including its longes ...

at Wilcannia. The Cobb also connects the

Barrier A barrier or barricade is a physical structure which blocks or impedes something. Barrier may also refer to: Places * Barrier, Kentucky, a community in the United States * Barrier, Voerendaal, a place in the municipality of Voerendaal, Netherla ...

, Mid-Western, Sturt, and

Riverina The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation ...

highways. The majority of Cobb Highway is a

sealed Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...

single carriageway A single carriageway (British English) or Undivided highway (American English) is a road with one, two or more lanes arranged within a one carriageway with no central reservation to separate opposing flows of traffic. A single-track road has a s ...

, with of

gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classifi ...

road near

Ivanhoe ''Ivanhoe: A Romance'' () by Walter Scott is a historical novel published in three volumes, in 1819, as one of the Waverley novels. Set in England in the Middle Ages, this novel marked a shift away from Scott’s prior practice of setting st ...

remaining to be sealed as of December 2022.

Route

From north to south, Cobb Highway begins at its junction with

Barrier Highway Barrier Highway is a highway in South Australia and New South Wales, and is designated part of route A32. The name of the highway is derived from the Barrier Ranges, an area of moderately high ground in the far west of New South Wales, through w ...

near Wilcannia, and runs south through the townships of , , and

Deniliquin Deniliquin () is a town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, close to the border with Victoria. It is the largest town in the Edward River Council local government area. Deniliquin is located at the intersection of the Riverina ...

. Its southern terminus is in Echuca, Victoria, at a

roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...

located approximately south of where the highway crosses the New South Wales–Victoria border at the Murray River and continues south as Northern Highway, also designated route B75. The highway travels through diverse changes in scenery, from the Murray River, enclosed farming land in the Riverina, to open grazing land and semi-desert towards the middle and northern sections. The speed limit is posted at , except for three sections where the limit is : north of Deniliquin until Hay, Hay until a few kilometres north of Booligal, and from just south of to Ivanhoe.

History

The passing of the ''Main Roads Act of 1924'' through the

Parliament of New South Wales The Parliament of New South Wales is a bicameral legislature in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), consisting of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (lower house) and the New South Wales Legislative Council (upper house). Eac ...

provided for the declaration of Main Roads, roads partially funded by the State government through the Main Roads Board (later the Department of Main Roads, and eventually

Transport for NSW Transport for NSW, sometimes abbreviated to TfNSW, and pronounced as Transport for New South Wales, is an agency of the New South Wales Government established on 1 November 2011, and is the leading transport and roads agency in New South Wales, ...

). Main Road No. 60 was declared along this road on 8 August 1928, from the bridge over the Murray River at Moama, via Deniliquin and Hay to the interseection with

Mid-Western Highway Mid-Western Highway, sometimes Mid Western Highway, is a state highway located in the central western and northern Riverina regions of New South Wales, Australia. The highway services rural communities and links the Great Western, Mitchell, ...

Booligal Booligal is a village in the Riverina area of western New South Wales (NSW), Australia. It is located on the Cobb Highway, on the Lachlan River north of Hay. Booligal is a part of Hay Shire local government area. The name of the village is an a ...

; with the passing of the ''Main Roads (Amendment) Act of 1929'' to provide for additional declarations of State Highways and Trunk Roads, this was amended to Trunk Road 60 on 8 April 1929. When Mid-Western Highway was re-routed to run via Hay instead of Booligal on 24 September 1929, the declaration remained unchanged. The Department of Main Roads, which had succeeded the New South Wales MRB in 1932, declared State Highway 21 on 16 March 1938, from the state border with Victoria on the Murray River at Moama via Deniliquin to the intersection with Sturt Highway near Hay, then from the intersection with Mid-Western Highway in Hay, via Booligal to the intersection with Barrier Highway south of Wilcannia, then from Wilcannia via White Cliffs, Cobham Lake, Milparkinka and Tibooburra to the state border with Queensland at Olive Downs, subsuming Trunk Road 60. This was altered to run continuously through Hay, subsuming the small portion of Mid-Western Highway previously terminating at the intersection with Sturt Highway, on 12 January 1944; Mid-Western Highway was re-declared to terminate at the intersection with State Highway 21 in Hay as a result. With the declaration of State Highway 22 (later

Silver City Highway Silver City Highway is a highway that links Buronga, New South Wales to the Queensland border via Wentworth, Broken Hill, and Tibooburra, in the arid Far West region of New South Wales; a short branch also connects to Calder Highway on the V ...

) subsuming the alignment between Cobham Lake and the state border with Queensland on 24 January 1945, its northern end was truncated to end at the intersection with Barrier Highway south of Wilcannia; the former alignment between Wilcannia via White Cliffs to Kayrunnera was declared as Main Road 435. State Highway 21 was named Cobb Highway on 23 April 1947, in honour of

, a company which ran a network of

es in inland Australia in the latter half of the 19th century and early in the 20th century. The passing of the ''Roads Act of 1993'' through the

updated road classifications and the way they could be declared within New South Wales. Under this act, Cobb Highway today retains its declaration as Highway 21, from the state border with Victoria at Moama via Deniliquin, Hay, Booligal and Ivanhoe to the intersection with Barrier Highway south of Wilcannia. Cobb Highway was signed National Route 75 across its entire length in 1955. With the conversion to the newer alphanumeric system in 2013, this was replaced with route B75. In May 1969 a bridge over the

Edward River Edward River, or Kyalite River, an anabranch of the Murray River and part of the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the western Riverina region of south western New South Wales, Australia. The river rises at Picnic Point east of Mathoura, a ...

at Deniliquin was constructed (replacing a timber bridge built in 1895). In June 1973 a bridge over Murrumbidgee River at Hay was built (replacing the 1874 opening bridge). Cobb Highway is part of a significant travelling

s network in New South Wales. The highway is the focus of a major tourism initiative entitled ''The Long Paddock'', developed by the

shires Shire is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries such as Australia and New Zealand. It is generally synonymous with county. It was first used in Wessex from the begin ...

along the route (

Conargo Conargo is a town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The town is in the Edward River Council local government area. It is on Billabong Creek, a tributary of the Edward River. The nearest towns are Jerilderie and Deniliquin. ...

Hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticated ...

and Central Darling). ''The Long Paddock'' project aims to develop sustainable communities along the Cobb Highway through the development of a dynamic cultural heritage touring route. The project uses the consistent theme of transportation, involving elements of history, creative interpretation and local environment, to link the communities along the highway.

Sealing

Work has been underway since 2011 to seal the remaining of unsealed highway. In June 2018, the

NSW Government The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governmen ...

announced it was investing $145 million to seal the remaining of the Cobb and Silver City Highways by 2023. As of March 2020, there is still of unsealed road remaining to be sealed.

Major intersections

References

External links