Hard Yakka is an Australian clothing company. It was founded in 1935 in Brunswick, Victoria as D. K. Laidlaw & Sons Pty Ltd but later adopted the brand name Hard Yakka, Yakka being Australian slang for work.
The company is one of the largest suppliers of work wear in the southern hemisphere, providing a large range of products. Since its inception, the company has expanded its work wear ranges to include Foundations, Legends, Koolgear, Protect FR and 3056: Born in Brunswick. The company also supplies a range of accessories and safety footwear.
In 2007, Hard Yakka was acquired by Pacific Brands then, in 2014, it was acquired by Wesfarmers as part of its Workwear Group along with KingGee and Stubbies workwear.[1] Hard Yakka was the outfitter of the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games and the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.[2]
Yakka is Australian slang for work, recorded, with various spellings, as early as 1840[3] and in 1888[4] and in The Bulletin, in 1892.[5] The term, "Yakka" is known from place and plant names in South Australia and also from India and Sri Lanka.
In 2000, Cecile Trioli speculated that "Yakka" is a loanword from the Yagara language of southern Queensland (yaga "work") that had entered Australian English in the late 19th century but Trioli's article was based on anonymous "typescript" with "no date" and "private information".[6]