The company is associated with bush hats made of rabbit fur felt with wide brims that are worn in rural Australia.

[4] 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.

[5] 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.

When a business slump hit the city in 1900, he moved to Sydney, setting up a hat making factory on Crown Street in Surry Hills.

[7] All of the hats that were produced at the factory were sold by Stewart from his store in York Street in Sydney as well as distributing it to other retailers in the city.

[8] In 1919 the company moved from its existing cramped and poorly located factory to new bigger premises at Bourke Street, Sydney.

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.

[9] With the outbreak of World War II the business revived as most of the company's production was directed into making slouch hats for the military.

[9] In the 1950s, the Akubra Company expanded its range when it won the licence to produce Stetson hats in Australia.