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Note: When quite a young man he purchased the Railway Hotel in Mossburn, in May 1923 the old wooden building was destroyed by fire. From the ruins of the old Hotel Francis Crosbie built a new brick Hotel and continued in business. He was known to be an enthusiastic sportsman, being actively involved in hunting, fishing, football, racing, shooting and collie clubs. In partnership with his brother he owned and raced several horses on the racing and trotting tracks.
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Note: HI464
Note: (Research):Frank James Crosbie (1878-1935) was one of a well-known coaching family and highly regarded in Southland. He was born in Invercargill on 17 October 1878, but about 1883 the family moved to Lumsden when his father Joseph Nelson Crosbie bought first the Waimea Hotel and then the newly built Railway Hotel. J.N. Crosbie was a pioneer coachman, driving one of the first coaches from Tokomairiro to Kingston, and also pioneering the Riverton-Kingston route. About 1891 he began a line of coaches from Lumsden to Lakes Te Anau and Manapouri, carrying tourists and the Royal Mail. After his death in 1899 his two sons, Joseph and Frank, took over the service. Almost from the beginning they had been the drivers and became respected throughout New Zealand for their care and skill. There were no bridges between Mossburn and the lakes and some of the rivers, such as the Mararoa, were treacherous. It took great skill to get the coaches through, but the Crosbie brothers never had any serious accidents with any of their patrons. They also never failed to deliver the mail, even when it often had to be taken on horseback over flooded rivers. There were few roads, mainly tracks, and the coach-driver often had to use a spade to level the way or to dig the coach out of a swamp. As time went on there were great numbers of passengers and in the summer season they had to use a six-horse drag. Frank Crosbie was an excellent horseman and had few equals at riding buck-jumpers and in breaking in wild horses. In 1904 he bought the Railway Hotel, Mossburn (his brother had taken over their father's hotel at Lumsden) and he also became a popular hotel keeper. He and Joseph also had a farming venture for a while at Five Rivers. In 1907 Frank married Cathrine Maloney of Dunedin, and they had one son and six daughters. When the old wooden hotel at Mossburn was destroyed by fire in 1923, Frank Crosbie had a fine new brick hotel built. He was a keen sportsman, and supported hunting, shooting, fishing, football, collie clubs, and racing - he and his brother owned and raced several horses. He died on 22 May 1935, survived by his wife and seven children./// This account is based on the obituary of F.J. Crosbie, probably from the Mataura Ensign 31/5/1935, found in McArthur Scrapbook 11, Gore Museum.... And 'Old Coaching Days' By E.M. Lovell-Smith, pp 115-116.... (There are some discrepancies in the dates.)
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