IS THIS POSTER A COLLECTOR’S ITEM? AKUBRAakubra-canada.com/akubra_news_Feb2014.pdf“I found it in...
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A AK KU UB BR RA A P.O. Box 287, Kempsey. 2440 • Phone (02) 6562 . 6177 • Fax (02) 6562 . 8726 • www.akubra.com.au FEBRUARY 2014 Vol. 34 No. 9 AKUBRA – ON TOP DOWN UNDER AKUBRA NEWS Akubra has joined forces with Sydney based rock and roll youth band The Delta Riggs to target the younger market – and it is working. The four band members wear Akubra hats, not only at their concerts but in gen- eral life and are generating a great deal of comment and interest among their follow- ers. And that interest is grad- ually spreading to the broader youth market. Six months ago their management pitched a pro- posal to Akubra and recog- nising that there was a whole new market to be tar- geted, the company agreed to provide the band mem- bers with a range of hats including the Speakeasy and Squatter. The hats have already been overseas once when the band played New York and Los Angeles and they go overseas again in May. Next month The Delta Riggs will play eight con- certs at major centres along the East Coast including, Sydney, Melbourne, and Byron Bay and the Akubras will be worn on and off stage. The love affair with Akubras started virtually from the time the boys formed the band at the urg- ing of their singer, Elliott Hammond. They then spent six months in an old farm house at Peats Ridge, north of Sydney, practising and writing songs. Elliott works part time at The Strand Hatters in Sydney and has worn an Akubra for many years and during those rehearsals suggested to the other three they should do the same. In fact, Elliott and his Akubra Speakeasy have become something of an icon in the music world. “No matter where we are fans recognise Elliott because of the hat,” base player, Michael Tramonte, said. “After we formed the band we all decided that hats and in fact, Akubra hats, were the way to go. “We are proudly Australian and Akubra is an Australian icon. “The hats set us aside from every other group and music fans recognise us because of them. “If we can influence more young Australians to wear hats, given our climate, then we will have achieved something. “We not only wear them on stage, we wear them in everyday life as well. “Elliott and I wore our Speakeasy hats to the Rolling Stone awards and were voted the best dressed. “Again they created a great deal of comment, all positive and that is what this alliance with Akubra is all about.” The Delta Riggs are fea- tured regularly on Triple J, are regulars on Channel V, Foxtel’s music channel and are gaining a wider audi- ence through their tours. Apart from Elliott and Michael the other two band members are Alex Markwell on guitar and Simon McConnell on drums. AKUBRA IS COOL, MAN: Michael Tramonte (left) and Elliott Hammond in their Akubra Speakeasy’s at the Rolling Stone awards in Sydney. GET WITH THE VIBE, MAN! IT’S COOL. AKUBRA IS ROCK AND ROLLING INTO THE YOUTH MARKET.
Transcript of IS THIS POSTER A COLLECTOR’S ITEM? AKUBRAakubra-canada.com/akubra_news_Feb2014.pdf“I found it in...
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AAKKUUBBRRAA P.O. Box 287, Kempsey. 2440 • Phone (02) 6562.6177 • Fax (02) 6562.8726 • www.akubra.com.au FEBRUARY 2014 Vol. 34 No. 9
AKUBRA – ON TOP DOWN UNDER AKUBRA – ON TOP DOWN UNDER
IS THIS POSTER A COLLECTOR’S ITEM?IItt iiss tthhee oonnee iitteemm tthhaatt
eevveerryyoonnee wwhhoo wwaallkkss iinnttootthhee sshhoopp wwaannttss ttoo bbuuyy bbuuttiitt’’ss nnoott ffoorr ssaallee,, nnoott aatt aannyypprriiccee..
Well, not unless some-one makes a silly offer thatwould allow Michelle Varleyto retire to the life style mostof us aspire to.
Michelle, who owns andruns Mrs V’s Drapery atLowood, near Ipswich inQueensland, has had thisrare Akubra poster framedand displays it prominentlyin her store and rates itamong one of her mosttreasured possessions.
Posters such as this onewere designed and printedfor the introduction of theSlim Dusty to the Akubrarange but so far no one hasbeen able to tell her whenthe poster was printed or ifthere are any others in exis-tence.
“I found it in the storeroom when I bought thestore and had never seenanother one like it,”Michelle said.
“I am a Slim Dusty fan soI had the poster framed andit hangs in the shop.
“I have lost count of thenumber of people whocome into the store, see theposter and want to buy itbut I have to tell them it isnot for sale.
“I have sent photos ofthe poster to Akubra’s head
office and the girls therehave asked around butcan’t help.
“Ken MacKenzie (one ofAkubras longest servingagents) was in the shop theother day and he could notrecall ever having seen one.
“I am wondering if thereis someone out there whoknows anything about the poster and whether it reallyis as rare as everyoneseems to think.”
Michelle bought herbusiness, then known asOgg’s Drapery, two and ahalf years ago.
“I worked in the hard-ware store next door andone Saturday morning OtisOgg, who owned the store,came in and asked me if Iwanted to buy it,” Michellesaid.
“I went home and askedmy husband John and hesaid no but I bought it any-way.
“I am a hat person, lovehats so buying the storewas a good fit but we alsostock a huge range of cloth-ing, jewellery, shoes andmanchester.
“I try to stock as muchAustralian produced itemsas I can.
“It really worries me thatso much of our manufactur-ing is going overseas andwe are losing so much ofour heritage.
AKUBRA NEWS
Keep out the cold. Wear an Akubra!EEaarrlliieerr tthhiiss yyeeaarr tthhee
ffaammoouuss SSyyddnneeyy MMaalleeCChhooiirr ttoouurreedd FFrraannccee aannddEEnnggllaanndd aass ppaarrtt ooff tthheeiirrcceenntteennaarryy cceelleebbrraattiioonnss,,ggiivviinngg 2244 ppeerrffoorrmmaanncceess iinn2233 ddaayyss..
Part of the French tourinvolved singing theNational Anthem at theLighting Of The EternalFlame at the L’Arc deTriomphe on a very coldParis afternoon.
“Everyone in the choirwas fitted with AkubraInternational hats which wethought looked more dressyfor the tour than some ofthe other styles,” the choir’svice president, GaryWithyman, said.
“They were certainly very
handy on that cold after-noon in keeping our headswarm.
“We wore them at all theoutdoor events we attend-ed and sang at.”
That included singing atthe Anzac Dawn Service atThe Somme and again atthe War Memorial atBullecourt.
“The Dawn Service wasso moving, standing on thehill in the early dawn andlooking over the plainswhere so many soldiersfought and died in such ter-rible conditions” Gary said.
The choir’s last perfor-mance in France was with achoir of Polish miners atDouai.
PINK ON PINK WITH SLIM: Michelle Varley (left) and her indispens-able store assistant, Amy Hayes, with the framed poster plus a closer
look at the poster below.
KEEPING WARM: The Australian male choir keeping warm and payingtheir respects in France.
Akubra has joinedforces with Sydneybased rock and rollyouth band The DeltaRiggs to target theyounger market – and itis working.
The four band memberswear Akubra hats, not onlyat their concerts but in gen-eral life and are generating agreat deal of comment andinterest among their follow-ers.
And that interest is grad-ually spreading to thebroader youth market.
Six months ago theirmanagement pitched a pro-posal to Akubra and recog-nising that there was awhole new market to be tar-geted, the company agreedto provide the band mem-bers with a range of hatsincluding the Speakeasyand Squatter.
The hats have alreadybeen overseas once whenthe band played New Yorkand Los Angeles and theygo overseas again in May.
Next month The DeltaRiggs will play eight con-certs at major centres alongthe East Coast including,Sydney, Melbourne, and
Byron Bay and the Akubraswill be worn on and offstage.
The love affair withAkubras started virtuallyfrom the time the boysformed the band at the urg-ing of their singer, ElliottHammond.
They then spent sixmonths in an old farmhouse at Peats Ridge, northof Sydney, practising andwriting songs.
Elliott works part time atThe Strand Hatters inSydney and has worn an
Akubra for many years andduring those rehearsalssuggested to the otherthree they should do thesame.
In fact, Elliott and hisAkubra Speakeasy havebecome something of anicon in the music world.
“No matter where we arefans recognise Elliottbecause of the hat,” baseplayer, Michael Tramonte,said.
“After we formed theband we all decided thathats and in fact, Akubra
hats, were the way to go.“We are proudly
Australian and Akubra is anAustralian icon.
“The hats set us asidefrom every other group andmusic fans recognise usbecause of them.
“If we can influence moreyoung Australians to wearhats, given our climate, thenwe will have achievedsomething.
“We not only wear themon stage, we wear them ineveryday life as well.
“Elliott and I wore ourSpeakeasy hats to theRolling Stone awards andwere voted the bestdressed.
“Again they created agreat deal of comment, allpositive and that is whatthis alliance with Akubra isall about.”
The Delta Riggs are fea-tured regularly on Triple J,are regulars on Channel V,Foxtel’s music channel andare gaining a wider audi-ence through their tours.
Apart from Elliott andMichael the other two bandmembers are Alex Markwellon guitar and SimonMcConnell on drums.
AKUBRA IS COOL, MAN: Michael Tramonte (left) and Elliott Hammond intheir Akubra Speakeasy’s at the Rolling Stone awards in Sydney.
GET WITH THE VIBE, MAN!IT’S COOL. AKUBRA IS ROCK AND
ROLLING INTO THE YOUTH MARKET.
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THIRTY YEARS ON AND DON STILLREMEMBERS THE DAY WELL
BUSHWACKED BY THE TURKEYZ
BUMPER SALES CATCH ALL BY SURPRISEVALE GREG AND PATRICIA GRANT
Don Oldfield remem-bers well the day, morethan 30 years ago, whenhe was offered the oppor-tunity to become anAkubra agent – a role hehas filled admirably
through much of southerncountry Queensland since1983.
“I had been at the GoldCoast on business and afterarriving back in Brisbanecalled into the office on myway home,” Don said.
“There was a messageon the answering machinefrom Terry Hunt (thenAkubra’s CompanySecretary) telling me he wascoming to Brisbane andwould I be interested in hav-ing a talk about the agency.
“I certainly was but it wastoo late to ring him backthen so I spent one of thelongest nights of my lifewaiting so I could ring himfirst thing in the morning.
“We talked a couple ofdays later and came to anagreement and it was thebest decision I ever made.”
Don and a close col-league, the late Adrian Kite,went into partnership to runthe agency but Adriandeveloped cancer and diedtwo years later.
Don has been in retail allhis life, starting at Myers inBrisbane then working inthe hat department atRothwells, then Brisbane’sprestige store.
“If a Rolls Royce orMercedes pulled up at thedoor it was usually one ofour important customersand one of us would be
despatched to hold the dooropen and usher them in,”Don said.
“There were three of us inthe hat department and itwas invaluable learningexperience.”
In 1966 Don went intobusiness with his father andwhen his father movednorth set up his own firm.
He has countless storiesto tell from the hundreds ofthousands of kilometres hehas travelled over the yearsbut his favourite is the timehe and former Victorianagent Tom Edwards sat inthe kitchen of the late R MWilliams for half an houryarning over a cup of tea.
AAkkuubbrraa wwaass ssaaddddeenneeddttoo lleeaarrnn ooff tthhee ddeeaatthhss ooffGGrreegg aanndd PPaattrriicciiaa GGrraanntt aatttthhee eenndd ooff tthheeiirr ttrriipp ooff aalliiffee ttiimmee ttoo IInnddiiaa..
The couple, who ownedand ran Greg GrantSaddlery’s two stores inBrisbane, were on their wayto the airport at Udaipur, inmid northern India, to begintheir trip home when theirchauffeur driven car was hitby a semi-trailer.
Their daughter Amandaand her husband Wroxtonwere following in anotherchauffer driven car and wit-nessed the accident.
The night before the fourof them had celebratedPatricia’s 68th birthday atthe Lake Palace Hotel.
They had been to India toattend a wedding, whichwas held over three days atNeemrana near Delhi.
After the wedding thefour of them went to midnorthern India to visitfriends in the saddleryindustry and to see wheretheir supplier’s factorieswere based.
Greg and Patricia estab-lished their business in 1977and at one stage they hadfive stores before reducing itto two.
They worked side by sideand sat down for lunchtogether, every day.
They were well known inequestrian and racing cir-cles in Queensland and hada small band of race horseswhich carried their familiargreen and white colours.
Akubra director, TerryHunt, represented the com-pany at the funeral andAkubra extends its sympa-thy to the family, staff andfriends of Greg and Patricia.
It seems that hats werethe flavour of the monthleading into Christmaswith Akubra experiencingunprecedented demandduring the month ofDecember. With hat salesup 50% on the Christmasprior it resulted in virtuallyno hats left on the stockshelves.
As a result, compoundedby the annual shutdown ofthe factory and strong
demand in January as well,production is now wellbehind with a substantialnumber of back orders stillto be delivered.
“Retail sales have alwaysbeen steady and as sucheven somewhat pre-dictable,” ManagingDirector, Stephen Keir, said.
“Generally over the pastcouple of years it has been ourexport sales that have risen.
“Talking to various retail-ers and Akubra agents justafter Christmas they allcommented that they didn’tsee this coming.
“Retail hat sales wereprobably the strongest for adecade.
“We are endeavouring toget our stocks back to nor-mal levels as well as meetour indent requirements withthe factory now on overtime.
“All I can do is apologiseto those customers who arestill waiting for hats and askfor their patience and under-standing during this excep-tionally busy time.”
It is expected that stocklevels will not return to nor-mal for a couple of months.The company will endeavourto meet indent date commit-ments.
TThhee nnaammee ssaayyss iitt aallll..TThheeyy ccaallll tthheemmsseellvveess tthheeBBrriiggaallooww BBuusshhwwaacckkeerrssRRuuggbbyy CClluubb,, tthheeiirr ppllaayyeerrssaarree ddrraawwnn ffrroomm cceennttrraallaanndd nnoorrtthheerrnn QQuueeeennssllaannddaanndd wwhhiillee tthheeyy ddeelliigghhtt iinnhhaavviinngg aa ggoooodd ttiimmee tthheeyyaarree nnoott bbaadd rruuggbbyy ppllaayyeerrsseeiitthheerr..
They recently returnedfrom the Bali InternationalRugby Tens where they wonthree matches and reachedthe final, only to be beaten12-5 by the Bush Turkeyz(these turkeyz can’t even
spell) from the NorthernTerritory.
The Turkeyz had a sizeadvantage over theBushwhackers but theBushwhackers had brag-ging rights when it came tohats.
They boasted their ownAkubra Woomeras with theirown logo lasered on tothem.
And the only time thoseAkubras came off theirheads, in the daylight hoursanyway, was when they ranon to the field to play.
SAD LOSS: Greg Grant, the founder of Greg Grant Saddlery who, along with hiswife Patricia, lost their lives in India in a terrible accident.
BUSHWACKED: Four of the Bushwackers rugby team showing their Akubras agood time.
AKUBRA LEATHER GOODS WELL RECEIVEDTThhee llaauunncchh ooff tthhee aallll
nneeww AAkkuubbrraa LLeeaatthheerrGGooooddss aanndd AAcccceessssoorriieessrraannggee iinn llaattee NNoovveemmbbeerrddeemmoonnssttrraatteedd tthhee eeaarrllyyiinntteerreesstt bbyy ccuussttoommeerrss ffoorraa rraannggee ooff AAkkuubbrraa bbrraannddeeddpprroodduuccttss.. AA mmeeddiiaa ccoommppaa--nnyy wwaass eennggaaggeedd ttoo pprroo--mmoottee tthhee rraannggee ttoo aallll mmaarr--kkeett sseeccttoorrss aanndd RRaayyHHaaddlleeyy pprroommootteedd tthheepprroodduuccttss hheeaavviillyy oonn tthheeRRaayy HHaaddlleeyy mmoorrnniinngg sshhoowwiinn tthhee lleeaadd uupp jjuusstt bbeeffoorreeCChhrriissttmmaass..
“I was amazed at howmany calls we fielded at thefactory. This clearly demon-strated the impact of themedia promotion, especially
Ray Hadley” ManagingDirector, Stephen Keir, said.
“This reaffirms our desireto offer the marketplace adiverse range of quality
goods branded Akubra”.
Strong sellers includedthe range of men’s walletsand the Nepean MessengerBag. Sales through QANTAS
in flight duty free havesurged with the SydneyTravel Wallet listing in thetop 25 products purchasedduring the Christmas peri-od. Since then QANTAShave placed 2 further refillorders.
Should you want to knowmore about stocking therange of Akubra LeatherAccessories please contactyour local Akubra Agent.
As a further incentiveduring the month of MarchDKM Blue will be offeringFIS delivery on all ordersover $500 ex GST anywherein Australia.
NEW PRODUCT: The Nepean Messenger Bag, part of the new range.
STILL GOING STRONG: Don Oldfieldshows off his Akubra in front of the
Notre Dame in Paris.
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THIRTY YEARS ON AND DON STILLREMEMBERS THE DAY WELL
BUSHWACKED BY THE TURKEYZ
BUMPER SALES CATCH ALL BY SURPRISEVALE GREG AND PATRICIA GRANT
Don Oldfield remem-bers well the day, morethan 30 years ago, whenhe was offered the oppor-tunity to become anAkubra agent – a role hehas filled admirably
through much of southerncountry Queensland since1983.
“I had been at the GoldCoast on business and afterarriving back in Brisbanecalled into the office on myway home,” Don said.
“There was a messageon the answering machinefrom Terry Hunt (thenAkubra’s CompanySecretary) telling me he wascoming to Brisbane andwould I be interested in hav-ing a talk about the agency.
“I certainly was but it wastoo late to ring him backthen so I spent one of thelongest nights of my lifewaiting so I could ring himfirst thing in the morning.
“We talked a couple ofdays later and came to anagreement and it was thebest decision I ever made.”
Don and a close col-league, the late Adrian Kite,went into partnership to runthe agency but Adriandeveloped cancer and diedtwo years later.
Don has been in retail allhis life, starting at Myers inBrisbane then working inthe hat department atRothwells, then Brisbane’sprestige store.
“If a Rolls Royce orMercedes pulled up at thedoor it was usually one ofour important customersand one of us would be
despatched to hold the dooropen and usher them in,”Don said.
“There were three of us inthe hat department and itwas invaluable learningexperience.”
In 1966 Don went intobusiness with his father andwhen his father movednorth set up his own firm.
He has countless storiesto tell from the hundreds ofthousands of kilometres hehas travelled over the yearsbut his favourite is the timehe and former Victorianagent Tom Edwards sat inthe kitchen of the late R MWilliams for half an houryarning over a cup of tea.
AAkkuubbrraa wwaass ssaaddddeenneeddttoo lleeaarrnn ooff tthhee ddeeaatthhss ooffGGrreegg aanndd PPaattrriicciiaa GGrraanntt aatttthhee eenndd ooff tthheeiirr ttrriipp ooff aalliiffee ttiimmee ttoo IInnddiiaa..
The couple, who ownedand ran Greg GrantSaddlery’s two stores inBrisbane, were on their wayto the airport at Udaipur, inmid northern India, to begintheir trip home when theirchauffeur driven car was hitby a semi-trailer.
Their daughter Amandaand her husband Wroxtonwere following in anotherchauffer driven car and wit-nessed the accident.
The night before the fourof them had celebratedPatricia’s 68th birthday atthe Lake Palace Hotel.
They had been to India toattend a wedding, whichwas held over three days atNeemrana near Delhi.
After the wedding thefour of them went to midnorthern India to visitfriends in the saddleryindustry and to see wheretheir supplier’s factorieswere based.
Greg and Patricia estab-lished their business in 1977and at one stage they hadfive stores before reducing itto two.
They worked side by sideand sat down for lunchtogether, every day.
They were well known inequestrian and racing cir-cles in Queensland and hada small band of race horseswhich carried their familiargreen and white colours.
Akubra director, TerryHunt, represented the com-pany at the funeral andAkubra extends its sympa-thy to the family, staff andfriends of Greg and Patricia.
It seems that hats werethe flavour of the monthleading into Christmaswith Akubra experiencingunprecedented demandduring the month ofDecember. With hat salesup 50% on the Christmasprior it resulted in virtuallyno hats left on the stockshelves.
As a result, compoundedby the annual shutdown ofthe factory and strong
demand in January as well,production is now wellbehind with a substantialnumber of back orders stillto be delivered.
“Retail sales have alwaysbeen steady and as sucheven somewhat pre-dictable,” ManagingDirector, Stephen Keir, said.
“Generally over the pastcouple of years it has been ourexport sales that have risen.
“Talking to various retail-ers and Akubra agents justafter Christmas they allcommented that they didn’tsee this coming.
“Retail hat sales wereprobably the strongest for adecade.
“We are endeavouring toget our stocks back to nor-mal levels as well as meetour indent requirements withthe factory now on overtime.
“All I can do is apologiseto those customers who arestill waiting for hats and askfor their patience and under-standing during this excep-tionally busy time.”
It is expected that stocklevels will not return to nor-mal for a couple of months.The company will endeavourto meet indent date commit-ments.
TThhee nnaammee ssaayyss iitt aallll..TThheeyy ccaallll tthheemmsseellvveess tthheeBBrriiggaallooww BBuusshhwwaacckkeerrssRRuuggbbyy CClluubb,, tthheeiirr ppllaayyeerrssaarree ddrraawwnn ffrroomm cceennttrraallaanndd nnoorrtthheerrnn QQuueeeennssllaannddaanndd wwhhiillee tthheeyy ddeelliigghhtt iinnhhaavviinngg aa ggoooodd ttiimmee tthheeyyaarree nnoott bbaadd rruuggbbyy ppllaayyeerrsseeiitthheerr..
They recently returnedfrom the Bali InternationalRugby Tens where they wonthree matches and reachedthe final, only to be beaten12-5 by the Bush Turkeyz(these turkeyz can’t even
spell) from the NorthernTerritory.
The Turkeyz had a sizeadvantage over theBushwhackers but theBushwhackers had brag-ging rights when it came tohats.
They boasted their ownAkubra Woomeras with theirown logo lasered on tothem.
And the only time thoseAkubras came off theirheads, in the daylight hoursanyway, was when they ranon to the field to play.
SAD LOSS: Greg Grant, the founder of Greg Grant Saddlery who, along with hiswife Patricia, lost their lives in India in a terrible accident.
BUSHWACKED: Four of the Bushwackers rugby team showing their Akubras agood time.
AKUBRA LEATHER GOODS WELL RECEIVEDTThhee llaauunncchh ooff tthhee aallll
nneeww AAkkuubbrraa LLeeaatthheerrGGooooddss aanndd AAcccceessssoorriieessrraannggee iinn llaattee NNoovveemmbbeerrddeemmoonnssttrraatteedd tthhee eeaarrllyyiinntteerreesstt bbyy ccuussttoommeerrss ffoorraa rraannggee ooff AAkkuubbrraa bbrraannddeeddpprroodduuccttss.. AA mmeeddiiaa ccoommppaa--nnyy wwaass eennggaaggeedd ttoo pprroo--mmoottee tthhee rraannggee ttoo aallll mmaarr--kkeett sseeccttoorrss aanndd RRaayyHHaaddlleeyy pprroommootteedd tthheepprroodduuccttss hheeaavviillyy oonn tthheeRRaayy HHaaddlleeyy mmoorrnniinngg sshhoowwiinn tthhee lleeaadd uupp jjuusstt bbeeffoorreeCChhrriissttmmaass..
“I was amazed at howmany calls we fielded at thefactory. This clearly demon-strated the impact of themedia promotion, especially
Ray Hadley” ManagingDirector, Stephen Keir, said.
“This reaffirms our desireto offer the marketplace adiverse range of quality
goods branded Akubra”.
Strong sellers includedthe range of men’s walletsand the Nepean MessengerBag. Sales through QANTAS
in flight duty free havesurged with the SydneyTravel Wallet listing in thetop 25 products purchasedduring the Christmas peri-od. Since then QANTAShave placed 2 further refillorders.
Should you want to knowmore about stocking therange of Akubra LeatherAccessories please contactyour local Akubra Agent.
As a further incentiveduring the month of MarchDKM Blue will be offeringFIS delivery on all ordersover $500 ex GST anywherein Australia.
NEW PRODUCT: The Nepean Messenger Bag, part of the new range.
STILL GOING STRONG: Don Oldfieldshows off his Akubra in front of the
Notre Dame in Paris.
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AAKKUUBBRRAA P.O. Box 287, Kempsey. 2440 • Phone (02) 6562.6177 • Fax (02) 6562.8726 • www.akubra.com.au FEBRUARY 2014 Vol. 34 No. 9
AKUBRA – ON TOP DOWN UNDER AKUBRA – ON TOP DOWN UNDER
IS THIS POSTER A COLLECTOR’S ITEM?IItt iiss tthhee oonnee iitteemm tthhaatt
eevveerryyoonnee wwhhoo wwaallkkss iinnttootthhee sshhoopp wwaannttss ttoo bbuuyy bbuuttiitt’’ss nnoott ffoorr ssaallee,, nnoott aatt aannyypprriiccee..
Well, not unless some-one makes a silly offer thatwould allow Michelle Varleyto retire to the life style mostof us aspire to.
Michelle, who owns andruns Mrs V’s Drapery atLowood, near Ipswich inQueensland, has had thisrare Akubra poster framedand displays it prominentlyin her store and rates itamong one of her mosttreasured possessions.
Posters such as this onewere designed and printedfor the introduction of theSlim Dusty to the Akubrarange but so far no one hasbeen able to tell her whenthe poster was printed or ifthere are any others in exis-tence.
“I found it in the storeroom when I bought thestore and had never seenanother one like it,”Michelle said.
“I am a Slim Dusty fan soI had the poster framed andit hangs in the shop.
“I have lost count of thenumber of people whocome into the store, see theposter and want to buy itbut I have to tell them it isnot for sale.
“I have sent photos ofthe poster to Akubra’s head
office and the girls therehave asked around butcan’t help.
“Ken MacKenzie (one ofAkubras longest servingagents) was in the shop theother day and he could notrecall ever having seen one.
“I am wondering if thereis someone out there whoknows anything about the poster and whether it reallyis as rare as everyoneseems to think.”
Michelle bought herbusiness, then known asOgg’s Drapery, two and ahalf years ago.
“I worked in the hard-ware store next door andone Saturday morning OtisOgg, who owned the store,came in and asked me if Iwanted to buy it,” Michellesaid.
“I went home and askedmy husband John and hesaid no but I bought it any-way.
“I am a hat person, lovehats so buying the storewas a good fit but we alsostock a huge range of cloth-ing, jewellery, shoes andmanchester.
“I try to stock as muchAustralian produced itemsas I can.
“It really worries me thatso much of our manufactur-ing is going overseas andwe are losing so much ofour heritage.
AKUBRA NEWS
Keep out the cold. Wear an Akubra!EEaarrlliieerr tthhiiss yyeeaarr tthhee
ffaammoouuss SSyyddnneeyy MMaalleeCChhooiirr ttoouurreedd FFrraannccee aannddEEnnggllaanndd aass ppaarrtt ooff tthheeiirrcceenntteennaarryy cceelleebbrraattiioonnss,,ggiivviinngg 2244 ppeerrffoorrmmaanncceess iinn2233 ddaayyss..
Part of the French tourinvolved singing theNational Anthem at theLighting Of The EternalFlame at the L’Arc deTriomphe on a very coldParis afternoon.
“Everyone in the choirwas fitted with AkubraInternational hats which wethought looked more dressyfor the tour than some ofthe other styles,” the choir’svice president, GaryWithyman, said.
“They were certainly very
handy on that cold after-noon in keeping our headswarm.
“We wore them at all theoutdoor events we attend-ed and sang at.”
That included singing atthe Anzac Dawn Service atThe Somme and again atthe War Memorial atBullecourt.
“The Dawn Service wasso moving, standing on thehill in the early dawn andlooking over the plainswhere so many soldiersfought and died in such ter-rible conditions” Gary said.
The choir’s last perfor-mance in France was with achoir of Polish miners atDouai.
PINK ON PINK WITH SLIM: Michelle Varley (left) and her indispens-able store assistant, Amy Hayes, with the framed poster plus a closer
look at the poster below.
KEEPING WARM: The Australian male choir keeping warm and payingtheir respects in France.
Akubra has joinedforces with Sydneybased rock and rollyouth band The DeltaRiggs to target theyounger market – and itis working.
The four band memberswear Akubra hats, not onlyat their concerts but in gen-eral life and are generating agreat deal of comment andinterest among their follow-ers.
And that interest is grad-ually spreading to thebroader youth market.
Six months ago theirmanagement pitched a pro-posal to Akubra and recog-nising that there was awhole new market to be tar-geted, the company agreedto provide the band mem-bers with a range of hatsincluding the Speakeasyand Squatter.
The hats have alreadybeen overseas once whenthe band played New Yorkand Los Angeles and theygo overseas again in May.
Next month The DeltaRiggs will play eight con-certs at major centres alongthe East Coast including,Sydney, Melbourne, and
Byron Bay and the Akubraswill be worn on and offstage.
The love affair withAkubras started virtuallyfrom the time the boysformed the band at the urg-ing of their singer, ElliottHammond.
They then spent sixmonths in an old farmhouse at Peats Ridge, northof Sydney, practising andwriting songs.
Elliott works part time atThe Strand Hatters inSydney and has worn an
Akubra for many years andduring those rehearsalssuggested to the otherthree they should do thesame.
In fact, Elliott and hisAkubra Speakeasy havebecome something of anicon in the music world.
“No matter where we arefans recognise Elliottbecause of the hat,” baseplayer, Michael Tramonte,said.
“After we formed theband we all decided thathats and in fact, Akubra
hats, were the way to go.“We are proudly
Australian and Akubra is anAustralian icon.
“The hats set us asidefrom every other group andmusic fans recognise usbecause of them.
“If we can influence moreyoung Australians to wearhats, given our climate, thenwe will have achievedsomething.
“We not only wear themon stage, we wear them ineveryday life as well.
“Elliott and I wore ourSpeakeasy hats to theRolling Stone awards andwere voted the bestdressed.
“Again they created agreat deal of comment, allpositive and that is whatthis alliance with Akubra isall about.”
The Delta Riggs are fea-tured regularly on Triple J,are regulars on Channel V,Foxtel’s music channel andare gaining a wider audi-ence through their tours.
Apart from Elliott andMichael the other two bandmembers are Alex Markwellon guitar and SimonMcConnell on drums.
AKUBRA IS COOL, MAN: Michael Tramonte (left) and Elliott Hammond intheir Akubra Speakeasy’s at the Rolling Stone awards in Sydney.
GET WITH THE VIBE, MAN!IT’S COOL. AKUBRA IS ROCK AND
ROLLING INTO THE YOUTH MARKET.
