Akubra is an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n brand of bush hat, whose wide-brimmed styles are a distinctive part of Australian culture

Culture of Australia

The culture of Australia is essentially a Western culture influenced by the unique geography of the Australian continent and by the diverse input of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and various waves of multi-ethnic migration which followed the British colonisation of Australia...

, especially in rural areas. The name is believed to be derived from an Aboriginal

Australian Aborigines

Australian Aborigines , also called Aboriginal Australians, from the latin ab originem , are people who are indigenous to most of the Australian continentthat is, to mainland Australia and the island of Tasmania...

 word for head covering.

Akubra's best-known hats are made from rabbit fur felt with wide brims, and the term "Akubra" is sometimes used to refer to any hat of this kind. Many Akubras have drawstring

Drawstring

A drawstring is a string, cord, or rope used to "draw" or tie closed an opening in fabric or other material...

s to help keep them on the wearer's head on windy days, as well as adding to the hat's appearance.

Akubra hats are an important part of traditional outdoor clothing in the Australian bush. They are often worn by hunters, farmers, graziers, horsemen, stockmen on the land. As well as protecting their wearers from sun and rain, they are used in less obvious ways: holding eggs or mushrooms, covering the eye of a recalcitrant horse, fanning fires and watering dogs. Akubras have also been worn by some Prime Ministers of Australia, notably Ben Chifley

Ben Chifley

Joseph Benedict Chifley , Australian politician, was the 16th Prime Minister of Australia. He took over the Australian Labor Party leadership and Prime Ministership after the death of John Curtin in 1945, and went on to retain government at the 1946 election, before being defeated at the 1949...

, whose Akubra is in the collection of the National Museum of Australia

National Museum of Australia

The National Museum of Australia was formally established by the National Museum of Australia Act 1980. The National Museum preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation....

.

History

The original hat-making factory

Factory

A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...

, not called Akubra at that time, was founded in the early 1870s by Benjamin Dunkerley. A recent immigrant to Australia, Dunkerley set up shop in Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

 after inventing a machine

Machine

A machine manages power to accomplish a task, examples include, a mechanical system, a computing system, an electronic system, and a molecular machine. In common usage, the meaning is that of a device having parts that perform or assist in performing any type of work...

 that removed the hair tip from rabbit

Rabbit

Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...

 fur

Fur

Fur is a synonym for hair, used more in reference to non-human animals, usually mammals; particularly those with extensives body hair coverage. The term is sometimes used to refer to the body hair of an animal as a complete coat, also known as the "pelage". Fur is also used to refer to animal...

, leaving the softer under-fur for use in the making of felt

Felt

Felt is a non-woven cloth that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing woollen fibres. While some types of felt are very soft, some are tough enough to form construction materials. Felt can be of any colour, and made into any shape or size....

 hats.

Dunkerley and his family later relocated to Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, in New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, where he hired a young man named Stephen Keir. While working for Dunkerley Hat Mills, Keir married Ada Dunkerley, Benjamin's daughter. After Benjamin Dunkerley's death in 1925, Stephen Keir took over the reins of the company, moving to a larger premises and adopting Akubra as a brand name

Brand

The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...

. The trade name "Akubra" came into use in 1912.

Akubra is famous for providing many of the Slouch hat

Slouch hat

A slouch hat is a wide-brimmed felt or cloth hat with a chinstrap, most commonly worn as part of a military uniform. It is a survivor of the felt hats worn by certain 18th century armies. Since then, the slouch hat has been worn by military personnel from many nations including Australia, Britain,...

s used by Australian forces in both World War One

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 and Two

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. In the 1950s, the Akubra Company expanded its range when it won the licence to produce Stetson

Stetson

Stetsons are the brand of hat manufactured by the John B. Stetson Company of St. Joseph, Missouri.Stetson eventually became the world’s largest hat maker, producing over 3.3 million hats a year in a factory spread over . Today Stetson remains a family-owned concern...

 hats in Australia, and by the 1970s, the business relocated from Sydney to larger premises in Kempsey, New South Wales

Kempsey, New South Wales

Kempsey is a town in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia and is the council seat for Kempsey Shire. It is located 15 kilometres inland from the coast of the Pacific Ocean where the Pacific Highway and the North Coast railway line cross the Macleay River...

. Steven Keir's sons Herbert and Stephen Keir II later ran the company, followed in turn by Stephen Keir III and now Stephen Keir IV. The company is still a family concern. Its current owners are the great, great-grandchildren of Benjamin Dunkerley.

Over 100 different styles, various colours and brim widths are produced in the Akubra hat range.

Stage musical

Cast members and 'crack riders' (expert riders), in the musical The Man from Snowy River: Arena Spectacular

The Man From Snowy River: Arena Spectacular

The Man from Snowy River: Arena Spectacular, which was based on Banjo Paterson's poem The Man from Snowy River, was a very popular musical theatre production which toured Australian capital cities twice during 2002....

, wore Akubra hats.

External links

• Akubra website
• Akubra hats in Germany
• National Museum of Australia Prime Minister Ben Chifley's Akubra