Originally Posted by Ghostrider

Hi,

Two stupid questions perhaps; the slouch hat? Is that the "classical" Australian hat? And what is a shako?

Not stupid questions at all Ghostrider. The slouch hat is indeed the "classic" Australian Army hat as can be seen in the image below.
How it came to be known as the "slouch hat" is open to interpretation although many consider the explanation that one side droops down compared to the other side as the most likely reason.
Many other troops have worn hats of a similar style from as early as the 17th century including the Cavalier forces of King Charles during the English Civil War, Southern Rhodesia, New Zealand, WW1 Germany and the Ghurkas.


The shako appears to have originated in Hungary in the 18th century and became part of the uniform for many European nations. It's still used today by groups such as the French Republican Guard and the USA's West Point cadets. Styles, heights, colours, adornments and so on varied but the basic shape can be seen in the image below (Sean Bean as Richard Sharpe from the popular TV series of Sharpe movies).

Originally Posted by KevinTheCynic

Not stupid questions at all Ghostrider. The slouch hat is indeed the "classic" Australian Army hat as can be seen in the image below.
How it came to be known as the "slouch hat" is open to interpretation although many consider the explanation that one side droops down compared to the other side as the most likely reason.
Many other troops have worn hats of a similar style from as early as the 17th century including the Cavalier forces of King Charles during the English Civil War, Southern Rhodesia, New Zealand, WW1 Germany and the Ghurkas.


The shako appears to have originated in Hungary in the 18th century and became part of the uniform for many European nations. It's still used today by groups such as the French Republican Guard and the USA's West Point cadets. Styles, heights, colours, adornments and so on varied but the basic shape can be seen in the image below (Sean Bean as Richard Sharpe from the popular TV series of Sharpe movies).

Is the hat now a part of the dress uniform or do the Australian Armed Forces use it instead of a cap? I will try to find my old regiment insigna, my old regiment is deactivated since early 1990s, an old lifeguard grenadier regiment (the white grenadiers) and show it here

I've always wanted a slouch hat, a few years ago I managed to get one, a friend of a friend living in OZ. Not only a brilliant bush hat, I reckon they are extremely smart. My dad was issued one on the Middle East during WW2.