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Akubra is an Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
n brand of hat
Hat

A hat is a headcovering. It may be worn for protection against the elements, for religious reasons, for safety, or as a fashion accessory. In the past, hats were an indicator of social status....
, whose wide-brimmed styles are a distinctive part of Australian culture
Culture of Australia

The demographics of Australia show it to be one of the most urbanised populations in the world, with the majority of Australians living in cities on the coast....
, especially in rural areas. The name is believed to be derived from an Aboriginal word for head covering.

Akubra's best-known hats are made from rabbit fur felt with wide brims, and the term "Akubra" is often used to refer to a hat of this kind.

The Akubra name is synonymous with the landscape of rural Australia, and these hats form an important part of an Australian’s traditional clothing.






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Akubra Style Hat
Akubra is an Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
n brand of hat
Hat

A hat is a headcovering. It may be worn for protection against the elements, for religious reasons, for safety, or as a fashion accessory. In the past, hats were an indicator of social status....
, whose wide-brimmed styles are a distinctive part of Australian culture
Culture of Australia

The demographics of Australia show it to be one of the most urbanised populations in the world, with the majority of Australians living in cities on the coast....
, especially in rural areas. The name is believed to be derived from an Aboriginal word for head covering.

Akubra's best-known hats are made from rabbit fur felt with wide brims, and the term "Akubra" is often used to refer to a hat of this kind.

The Akubra name is synonymous with the landscape of rural Australia, and these hats form an important part of an Australian’s traditional clothing. Akubra hats are traditionally worn by cowboys, farmers, graziers, horsemen, stockmen and women on the land as well as those visiting Australia home who wish to take an Australian icon home. These hats may be used for sun and rain protection, to gather eggs or mushrooms, to cover the eye of a recalcitrant horse that has to be handled, to fan a fire and to water dogs when in the bush
Bush

Nouns* Shrub, a type of woody plant, smaller than normal trees*The Bush, a term used in several countries for rural, undeveloped land or country areas...
.

History

The original hat-making factory
Factory

A factory or manufacturing plant is an industry building where workers manufacturing Good or supervise machines Process Manufacturing one product into another....
, 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 States and territories of Australia of the same name. It is located south of the eastern side of the continent, being separated from it by Bass Strait....
 after inventing a machine
Machine

A machine is any device that uses energy to perform some activity. 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. There are seven different genus in the family taxonomy as rabbits, including the European rabbit , Cottontail rabbit , and the Amami rabbit ....
 fur
Fur

Fur is a Hair of any non-human mammal, also known as the pelage. It may consist of short ground hair, long guard hair, and, in some cases, medium awn hair....
, leaving the softer under-fur for use in the making of felt
Felt

Felt is a non-weave cloth that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing fibers. While some types of felt are very soft, some are tough enough to form construction materials....
 hats.

Dunkerley and his family later relocated to Sydney
Sydney

Sydney is the List of cities in Australia by population in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million . It is the List of Australian capital cities of New South Wales, and was the site of the first British Empire colony in Australia....
, in New South Wales
New South Wales

New South Wales is Australia's oldest and most populous States and territories of Australia, located in the south-east of the country, north of Victoria and south of Queensland....
, 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 1918, Stephen Keir took over the reins of the company, moving to a larger premises and adopting Akubra as a brand name
Brand

A brand is a collection of symbols, experiences and associations connected with a product, a service, a person or any other artifact or entity....
. 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 hat with a chinstrap most commonly worn as part of a military uniform. It is a survivor of the felt hats worn by eighteenth century armies....
s used by Australian forces in both World War One
World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
 and Two
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
. In the 1950s, the Akubra Company expanded its range when it won the licence to produce Stetson
Stetson

Stetson hats or Stetsons refers to the brand of hat manufactered by the John B. Stetson Company of St. Joseph, Missouri. The word 'Stetson' is sometimes used as a Genericized trademark term for a cowboy hat....
 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 in Kempsey Shire Council. It is located 15 kilometres inland from the coast of the Pacific Ocean where the Pacific Highway and the North Coast railway line, New South Wales 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.

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