F E, as he is affectionately known, #223 on the web family tree, is one of the least celebrated but most generous members of the entire Cobbold family. Eschewing the opportunity to work in his family brewing business he struck out on his own, made a small fortune and gave it away. His story is told in full in The Gifts of Frank Cobbold and in an abridged form in Cobbold & Kin, Life Stories from an East Anglian Family. Here we give you just a skeleton.
‘He is small and thin but you will find him active’ said a reluctant Arthur Thomas Cobbold (1815-1898) #138 as he apprenticed his fourteen-year-old son to Captain Birnie of the wool clipper, Ann Duthie in 1867. For young Frank Cobbold the few steps between land and sea marked the beginning of an adventure which would not only see him grow from boy to man but would also determine the course of the rest of his life. No sooner had the ship docked at Sydney than Frank walked off it and boarded another for Melbourne from where he was lured to Fiji by word of fortunes to be made from cotton. Despite his youthful energy and will to succeed his entrepreneurial efforts repeatedly foundered and on one occasion he was lucky to escape the cannibals’ pot
Back in Melbourne, whilst taking lessons to become a surveyor he received an invitation to work at Albermarle, one of the largest sheep stations in New South Wales. Having cut his teeth at Albermarle, he won his spurs all over the bush of New South Wales and Queensland establishing a reputation for integrity, durability and common sense whilst surviving bouts of typhoid and trachoma. Frank was suddenly in demand and such was his reputation that he was soon managing stations on behalf of owners and shortly thereafter he became a part owner himself. Through downright hard work, absolute integrity with banks and investors, and the wisdom to provide for a rainy day he became the owner of many profitable and valuable stations.
Aware of the consequences of ‘all work and no play’ Frank and his second wife Bea (1869-1951) #225 went on holiday taking a world tour which included a return to his beloved Suffolk. On return to Australia he slowly delegated the running of his stations to managers and bought 7 Fulham Avenue in South Yarra as their permanent home. He indulged his love of horse racing buying a colt, Conquistador who went on to win six of its eight starts and Danilo and Villius who won the Carnival Handicap at Flemington’s Melbourne Cup in consecutive years, 1933-34, the latter at odds of twenty-three to one.
After generous provision for Bea’s future, he left the remainder of his estate to The Royal United Kingdom Beneficient Association (RUKBA) to provide annuities for the needy of his native Suffolk. In 2004 RUKBA, now Independent Age, valued the F E Cobbold Trust Fund at £9.9 million – the largest bequest it had ever received.
Anthony Cobbold
