Akubra
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Hat manufacturing |
| Founded | 1874 in Tasmania, Australia |
| Founder | Benjamin Dunkerley |
| Headquarters | Kempsey , Australia |
Area served | Australia |
Key people | Stephen Keir IV (managing director until 2023) |
| Products | Wide-brimmed rabbit fur felt bush hats, fedora, homburg, bowler, pork pie, trilby hats |
| Owner | Tattarang (since November 2023) |
Number of employees | Several hundred (1920s) |
| Parent | Tattarang |
| Website | www |
Akubra is an Australian company specializing in hat manufacturing, which has been under the ownership of Tattarang since November 2023. The brand is primarily recognized for its wide-brimmed rabbit fur felt bush hats, a style deeply associated with rural Australia. Although "Akubra" commonly denotes this particular hat type, the company’s portfolio also includes various other styles such as fedora, homburg, bowler, pork pie, and trilby hats.
The term "Akubra" is believed to originate from an Aboriginal word, potentially from the Birpai language, meaning a head covering.
History
Benjamin Dunkerley, born in 1840 in Cheshire, England, was a proficient hat maker who migrated to Tasmania in 1874. In 1876, he co-established Kensington Hat Mills located in Glenorchy near Hobart. The business quickly grew to employ 30 workers producing approximately 750 hats weekly before facing bankruptcy in 1879. After restrictions were lifted, Dunkerley resumed operations in 1885 alongside H.J Hull.
In 1892, Dunkerley developed and secured a patent for a machine that automated the process of cutting rabbit fur, obtaining patent rights in England, the United States, and Australia by 1893. That same year, together with James Dugdale, he patented an enhanced cone design used in hat bodies.
By around 1895, Dunkerley dissolved his partnership with Hull and moved first to Melbourne and subsequently to Sydney during economic hardships. In Sydney, he set up a manufacturing facility on Crown Street in Surry Hills.
Stephen Keir (1879–1957), hailing from a family of hatmakers in Manchester, emigrated to Australia in 1901 and joined Dunkerley’s enterprise in 1904. He married Ada Dunkerley in 1905 and assumed the role of managing director by 1911 when Dunkerley Hat Mills Pty Ltd was officially registered with seven shareholders and nineteen employees.
Sales of all hats were conducted through Arthur P. Stewart’s York Street store along with other retailers across Sydney. Stewart formally registered "Akubra" as a trademark on 7 August 1912, establishing it as the company’s official brand.
During World War I, Akubra provided rabbit-fur slouch hats to the Australian military; these hats demonstrated greater durability compared to those made from wool felt. By 2016, the company had produced over two million slouch hats for military use. In 1919, the company moved its operations to larger premises on Bourke Street in Sydney.
By the decade of the 1920s, Akubra employed several hundred workers. Amid the Great Depression, a proposed wage reduction of ten percent helped prevent workforce reductions. During World War II, demand surged again as production concentrated on military slouch hats; employees serving in the armed forces received wage supplements.
In the 1950s, Akubra broadened its product line by acquiring an Australian license to manufacture Stetson hats. In 1972, Mainline Corporation purchased Dunkerley Hat Mills; two years later, production shifted to more spacious facilities located in Kempsey, New South Wales.
Leadership remained within the Keir family for four generations—from Stephen Keir I, who served as managing director until 1952, through to Stephen Keir IV assuming control in 2007.
In 2015, Akubra renewed its exclusive contract as the sole producer of slouch hats for the Australian Defence Force and celebrated manufacturing its two millionth military slouch hat that year.
In November 2023, private investment company Tattarang acquired Akubra. Former managing director Stephen Keir identified challenges stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic as among the factors influencing this transaction.
Styles
Akubra offers a collection exceeding 100 distinct hat designs, featuring a variety of colours and brim sizes. Although the brand is frequently linked to older rural Australians, its initial fame in the 1920s stemmed from fashionable hats such as Fedoras. The company caters to both countryside and city clientele. In 2014, estimated yearly sales ranged from 140,000 to 180,000 units, with particularly high popularity in Melbourne during the Melbourne Cup period.
See also
References
Further reading
External links
- Articles with short description
- 1874 establishments in Australia
- Australian companies established in 1874
- Clothing companies established in 1874
- Culture of Australia
- Hat companies
- Companies based in New South Wales
- Outdoor clothing brands
- Rider apparel
- Australian headgear
- Australian fashion
- Clothing brands of Australia
- Privately held companies of Australia
- Australian military uniforms