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238:. The business rapidly expanded and was soon employing 30 workers and producing 750 hats per week. However the business was declared bankrupt in 1879. Once the restrictions on his bankruptcy were lifted Dunkerley in 1885 re-established Kensington Hat Mills in partnership with H.J Hull. To improve production Dunkerley invented and registered in 1892 a fur-cutting machine that mechanised the difficult and tedious task of stripping the fur from the skin of rabbits. Realising its potential he travelled to
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Over 100 different styles, various colours and brim widths are produced in the Akubra hat range. The hats are popularly thought of as being worn by older people in rural
Australia however in the 1920s Akubra was known more for making "fashion hats" such as Fedoras. The company sells hats in rural and
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When
Stephen Keir retired in 1952 he was succeeded as Managing Director by his eldest son, Herbert. His second son, Stephen Keir II, served as General Manager and succeeded his brother as Managing Director in 1972. His son, Stephen Keir III, became Managing Director in 1980. Following the retirement
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In 1901 Stephen Keir (14 October 1879 - 11 November 1957), who came from a family of
Manchester hat makers immigrated to Australia and after working for another hat maker entered the employ of Dunkerley in 1904 where he became romantically involved with Benjamin's daughter Ada Dunkerley, who also
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Benjamin
Dunkerley was born 1840 in Cheshire England . He became a hatter and developed such skill with hat making machinery that he visited Germany from time to time to help manufacturers there set up operations. In 1874 Benjamin left England for Tasmania to check out the hatting prospects.
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for the
Australian army. Slouch hats made of rabbit fur were found to be more hard wearing than the hats made from previous woollen felt. Since then it has continued supplying slouch hats to the Australian armed forces with an estimated over two million produced by 2016.
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While information is missing on what
Dunkerley was calling his business in Melbourne and Sydney, in 1911 Dunkerley Hat Mills Pty Ltd was registered with seven shareholders, 19 employees with Stephen Keir as managing director and Arthur P. Stewart as chairman.
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By the 1920s the company had hundreds of employees. When the
Depression struck and the demand for hats collapsed Keir's proposal (democratically endorsed) of a 10 per cent wage cut for all employees avoided any reduction in numbers.
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the business revived as most of the company's production was directed into making slouch hats for the military. Those employees who enlisted had their normal civilian wages preserved by the company to augment their military pay.
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with wide brims that are worn in rural
Australia. The term "Akubra" is sometimes used to refer to any hat of this kind, however the company manufactures a wide range of hat styles including
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On 7 August 1912 Stewart, who, as well as being a shareholder in the company and its chairman, was the distributor and sales agent for the company, registered the name
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Later in that year of 1893 in partnership with James
Dugdale he took out another patent in England, for an invention that improved cones employed in making hat bodies.
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urban areas. In 2014 it was reported that about 140,000 to 180,000 Akubras are sold every year, including "bucket loads" in
Melbourne around
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acquired Dunkerley Hat Mills maker of the Aussie Icon Akubra Hats and in 1974 the business was relocated from Sydney to larger premises in
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In 1874 Benjamin Dunkerley (1840 - 20 February 1918) who came from a family of cotton weavers and who had experience working as hatter in
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In 1919 the company moved from its existing cramped and poorly located factory to new bigger premises at Bourke Street, Sydney.
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in England and took out a patent, which after some delay he was granted in August 1893. During the wait he travelled to
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584:. Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University
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All of the hats that were produced at the factory were sold by Stewart from his store in
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Ending his partnership with Hull after a decade working together, Dunkerley relocated to
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In the 1950s, the Akubra Company expanded its range when it won the licence to produce
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of Stephen Keir III in 2007, his son Stephen Keir IV became Managing Director.
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604:"Billionaire miners Andrew and Nicola Forrest buy Australian hatmaker Akubra"
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In 1876 Dunkerley and David Glenhill established the Kensington Hat Mills in
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in Sydney as well as distributing it to other retailers in the city.
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in 1895 and when a business slump hit the city he moved in 1900 to
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Prime Minister Ben Chifley's Akubra, National Museum of Australia
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and filed for a US patent and also sent an application back to
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as trademark 13462. Since then, it has been using Akubra as a
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250:. He was successful, being granted in all three countries.
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since November 2023. The company is associated with
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699:(Paperback). Sydney: Andrews McMeel Publishing.
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276:worked in the factory. They married in 1905.
660:: 24 April 2014. Retrieved on 22 June 2016.
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211:A man wearing an Akubra wide-brimmed hat
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191:The name is claimed to derive from an
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673:(Hardback). Preston: Bounce Books.
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765:Companies based in New South Wales
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523:"The Legacy of Benjamin Dunkerley"
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669:Montagnana-Wallace, Neil (2016).
745:1874 establishments in Australia
528:. National Archives of Australia
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435:"The Akubra Story – Akubra Hats"
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652:"Hat fad propels iconic brand"
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567:Montagnana-Wallace, page 31.
555:Montagnana-Wallace, page 16.
546:Montagnana-Wallace, page 11.
343:hats in Australia. In 1972,
199:) word for a head covering.
49:; 127 years ago
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671:Akubra: Handcrafted History
582:"Keir, Stephen (1879–1957)"
506:Montagnana-Wallace, page 8.
494:Montagnana-Wallace, page 7.
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16:Australian hat manufacturer
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695:Truner, Grenville (2009).
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657:The Sydney Morning Herald
638:Retrieved on 5 March 2009
580:Steven, Margaret (1996).
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331:With the outbreak of
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610:. 19 November 2023.
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362:in November 2023.
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65:Benjamin Dunkerley
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318:slouch hats
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270:Surry Hills
739:Categories
421:References
296:brand name
240:Manchester
195:(possibly
193:Aboriginal
163:rabbit fur
616:0261-3077
360:Tattarang
258:Melbourne
228:Glenorchy
221:Stockport
159:bush hats
155:Tattarang
92:Tattarang
81:Australia
379:See also
244:New York
236:Tasmania
182:pork pie
161:made of
36:Industry
588:5 April
532:5 April
349:Kempsey
341:Stetson
312:During
230:, near
203:History
174:homburg
98:Website
62:Founder
52: (
44:Founded
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472:Sydney
375:time.
366:Styles
292:Akubra
262:Sydney
232:Hobart
197:Birpai
186:trilby
184:, and
178:bowler
170:fedora
116:Akubra
103:akubra
22:Akubra
526:(PDF)
88:Owner
701:ISBN
675:ISBN
623:2023
612:ISSN
590:2018
534:2018
476:ISBN
453:NITV
166:felt
105:.com
54:1897
47:1897
268:in
234:in
151:hat
107:.au
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
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