Joseph Divis (28 February 1885 – 10 October 1967) was a Czech-born New Zealand miner and photographer. He lived and worked in Waiuta, New Zealand. His photographs of miners form a historical record of mining on the West Coast.

Biography

Divis was born in Orlík, Austria-Hungary (now in the Czech Republic), on 28 February 1885.[1] It is thought that he worked in mining in Germany before emigrating to New Zealand in 1909.[1] On arrival, he worked as a coal miner at Blackball but moved to Waiuta in 1912 to work at the Blackwater gold mine.[1] He remained in Waiuta for the rest of his life, apart from five years working at the Waihi mine in the North Island from 1919 to 1924, and visits to Europe in 1913 and from 1926 to 1930.[1]

During World War II, Divis was interned on Matiu / Somes Island as an enemy alien. He was there from 1940 to 1943 even though he was naturalised as a British citizen in 1936.[1]

Most residents of Waiuta left when the Blackwater Mine closed in 1951. Divis was one of the few remaining residents and acted as postmaster.[1]

Divis used shutter time-release, which enabled him to appear in many of his photographs.[2] Because of this he has been called the "inventor of the selfie".[3] His photographs were published in the Auckland Weekly News and were also used as postcards and stereograms.[1][4]

Divis died at Greymouth on 10 October 1967,[5] and is buried in the Reefton cemetery.[1]

Legacy

Divis's photographs have been preserved and digitised by the Alexander Turnbull Library.[6][7]

A biography of Divis Through the eyes of a miner: the photography of Joseph Divis was published in 2016.[8]

The Department of Conservation is undertaking a project to restore Divis's house at Waiuta.[9] Filmmakers Dave Kwant and Robin Janes made a documentary Jos – The Forgotten Photographer Who Saved a Town (2023) about Divis's life and work.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Joseph Divis, Waiuta's photographer". nzhistory.govt.nz. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  2. ↑ "Waiuta through the eyes of a miner". nzhistory.govt.nz. Archived from the original on 20 March 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  3. 1 2 Naish, Joanne (17 March 2023). "New documentary aims to honour the 'inventor of the selfie', Jos Divis". Stuff. Archived from the original on 5 May 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  4. ↑ "Through the Eyes of a Miner: the Photography of Joseph Divis". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  5. ↑ "Deaths". The Press. Vol. 107, no. 31498. 12 October 1967. p. 23. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  6. ↑ McQuarrie, Caroline (24 November 2021). "Re-visioning Joseph Divis and Waiuta". natlib.govt.nz. Archived from the original on 5 October 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  7. ↑ "Divis, Joseph, 1885-1967: Photographs of New Zealand gold mining". natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  8. ↑ Nathan, Simon; Wright, Les; Wilshire, Brendon (2016). Through the eyes of a miner : the photography of Joseph Divis. Greymouth: Friends of Waiuta. ISBN 9780473353643. OCLC 957184358.
  9. ↑ McMahon, Brendon (1 May 2023). "Work under way to restore historic cottage in West Coast ghost town". Stuff. Archived from the original on 12 May 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
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