The company got its start as a hatmaker founded in Tasmania in 1876 by an Englishman named Benjamin Dunkerley, and it is now the last remaining fur-felt hatmaker in the country. In the early 1900s, Dunkerley moved the business from Tasmania to Surry Hills, the “garment district” of Sydney, teaming up with another English hatmaker, Stephen Keir I, and the trade name Akubra came into use on August 7, 1912. Keir married Ada Dunkerley, Benjamin’s daughter, and when Benjamin Dunkerley died in 1918, full ownership transferred to the Keir family, with whom it remained until 2023. Even today, sixth-generation Keir family members work in the business, which is now owned by fellow philanthropists Andrew and Nicola Forrest.
When Stephen Keir III died in 2012, his family – including daughters Stacey McIntyre and Nikki McLeod, and son Stephen Maitland Keir IV – established a scholarship in their father’s name. “We wanted some sort of legacy for Dad,” McLeod says. “He was always fond of country kids, country stuff, and that’s what piqued our interest.” McLeod, while training to become a registered nurse, did a stint at RFW. “It was very apparent how much good they were doing, so why reinvent the wheel?” she says. Adds McIntyre, “
After 100 years, they know what they’re doing. The people there are good and we loved their template.”
The family has provided hundreds of thousands of dollars to RFW since the scholarship’s inception, and it helps not just an individual child, but also their family, classmates, school and community. “We haven’t looked back,” McIntyre says. “Some of the stories are horrifying. A kid in the country can’t get a paediatric appointment until they’re a teenager. It shouldn’t be like that.” The Keir family are one of RFW’s strongest advocates and steadfast supporters. “It’s a mutually beneficial relationship,” McIntyre says. “We’re fortunate to be in the position to help and we’re as grateful to them to be able to make good use of our money as they are to us for providing it.”
If you would like to grow your support of country kids through a particular project or area of interest, please contact Rebecca Bazley, Philanthropy Manager, at rebeccab@royalfarwest.org.au.
