The first Cobb & Co. coach arrived in New Plymouth from Whanganui at 9.15pm on Thursday 12 January 1871. Photographic technology being what it was then, it would have been too dark to record the moment when the coach pulled up after the long journey. This photograph was probably taken the day after.
The passengers on this historic coach ride were Sir William Fox, Frederic William Riemenschneider – the son of the late Reverend Johann Friedrich Riemenschneider – Andrew Young, J. Hirst, Hone Pihama and an orderly. Sir William Fox served as the Premier of New Zealand on four occasions and came to be known for his eventual support of Māori land rights, his contribution to the education system and his work towards New Zealand's increasing independence from Britain.
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