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. 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. 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 Akubra as trademark 13462. Since then, it has been using Akubra as a brand name. During World War One the company manufactured slouch hats 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. In 1919 the company moved from its existing cramped and poorly located factory to new bigger premises at Bourke Street, Sydney. 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. 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. Those employees who enlisted had their normal civilian wages preserved by the company to augment their military pay. In the 1950s, the Akubra Company expanded its range when it won the licence to produce Stetson hats in Australia, and in 1974 the business relocated from Sydney to larger premises in Kempsey, New South Wales. 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 of Stephen Keir III in 2007, his son Stephen Keir IV became Managing Director. The company is still a family concern. Styles Over 100 different styles, various colours and brim widths are produced in the Akubra hat range. The hats are popularly thought of