Summary

Kodak encouraged its employees to form camera clubs in its companies world-wide, as a strategy for promoting photography and the use of Kodak products. Many of Kodak Australasia's employees were keen amateur photographers and joined the Kodak Camera Club in Melbourne. Some of them entered their work in the Annual Kodak International Salon of Photography.

Kodak encouraged its employees to form camera clubs in its companies world-wide, as a strategy for promoting photography and the use of Kodak products. Many of Kodak Australasia's employees were keen amateur photographers and joined the Kodak Camera Club in Melbourne. Some of them entered their work in the Annual Kodak International Salon of Photography.

Kodak Australasia employees ran a Kodak Camera Club in the 1930s and 40s, (see for example HT 9049 Stuart J. Sanderson Trophy) but it seemed to have lapsed during World War II. The club was revived by Roy Porter in the 1950s. When Kodak opened its new Coburg factory in 1961, the company provided a meeting space, darkroom and equipment in Building 9, and donated photographic materials. Roy explains that boxes of products were opened and samples tested as part of Kodak's quality control program: 'Well once those boxes were opened of course they wouldn't go back to the public so we, as a camera club, would finish up with those open boxes of film or paper, or chemicals. Once they opened a can of chemicals of course there'd be a lot of waste, well we would use that with the company's blessing.'

The club held weekly meetings, sometimes listening to guest speakers on some aspect of photography. The camera club ran regular photographic competitions for employees in its branches throughout Australia. Kodak donated the medals and prize money.

The club liked to involve everyone, as one member Yvonne Cameron (formerly Welch) recalls: 'They put all the entries onto big display boards in the canteen, and people would come in to eat and walk through, and they would stop and look at all the prints.' One year Yvonne was the proud winner of a medallion and $14 as first prize for her picture of a dog 'Trixie' in the slide section in 1966.

Roy remembers that the camera club played a special role at Kodak's annual Christmas party, with a member dressing up as Father Christmas: 'The Camera Club would photograph the children sitting on Santa's knee, and we would go into our darkroom and process that film and give them a photograph on the way out.'

Peter Hunter from the marketing department was active in the camera club, and entered the Kodak International Salon of Photography, a photographic competition open to all Kodak employees world-wide. In 1967 he won the George Eastman Memorial Medal: 'It's eighteen carat gold, so it's worth quite a bit isn't it? I was pretty proud of myself. I think that was something that made me important for the boss, who gave me a hundred dollars a year rise.'

Peter continued his interest in the Kodak Camera Club after he retired in 1995, entering club competitions and giving guest lectures. 'And it was a nice social way of knowing what was going on'.

References
Beale, Nigel, 'The History of Kodak in Australia', 1983.
Interview - Yvonne Cameron, 27 February 2014 (HT 36621) 
Interview - Peter Hunter, 20 February 2014 (HT 36735)
Interview - Roy Porter, 28 November 2013 (HT 35633)

More Information