Wild Ride is largely the story of James Rutherford and Frank Whitney, the leaders of a group of young entrepreneurs who took the reins of Cobb & Co in 1861. The operation’s first seven years were characterised by various owners (including its eponymous founder) trying to make a fast buck and then moving on. Rutherford and Whitney proved to be stayers, men whose opposing natures could be harnessed for mutual reward.

The author’s interest in Cobb & Co. has a link to his childhood: his godfather is a descendant of Frank Whitney. As well as the public side of the business, Everingham details the private lives of the characters that made Cobb & Co. a household name and, in the process, made their fortunes. Yet phenomenal wealth afforded no immunity from heartache, and the estrangement of the partners (and later their widows) verged on absolute.

This rollicking tale outlines social history as well as the particular concerns of the coaching industry. But it is uneven. Although Everingham’s research is extensive, he lacks a storyteller’s polish. The author’s best surmises of the feuding wives’ distress pales in comparison to the action driven by Rutherford’s manic energy. On a couple of occasions, events that have been foreshadowed prove to be anticlimactic. Generally, though, Everingham maintains a firm grasp of his subject and delivers a fascinating story of North American enterprise that built an Australian icon.