Tea lady. Chemist. Accountant. Emulsion coater. Camera assembler. Entrepreneur. Secretary. Developing and Printing operator. Salesperson. Chemical packer. Manager.
Kodak Australasia has employed many thousands of people to do a wide and varied range of work supporting the manufacture and sale of photographic products for over 130 years.
They include the company founders Thomas Baker and JJ Rouse in the late 1880s, and the staff employed in Kodak's retail shops, offices and factories in the intervening years to now.
Delve into Kodak’s Staff Stories to find out more about some of the staff who worked at Kodak over the years.
Watch our story showcase below featuring a small selection of former Kodak staff talking about their working lives at Kodak in Melbourne between the 1930s and 2004. These short 3-4 minute digital stories were taken from oral history interviews that were conducted for the museum's Kodak Heritage Collection.
Betty Radstake
1956–1966
In 1956 Betty joined Kodak in Abbotsford as a secretary to the canteen manager Mr Eddie Sharkey and the waste survey manger Mr Ray Hull. Betty worked lunchtimes in the canteen and did the catering orders. She left Kodak in 1961 to start a family, but returned 2 years later as a densitometer operator in the Testing Department at Coburg, where she stayed until 1966.
Brian Phillipson
1955–1991
Elizabeth Delahunty
1982–2000
Elizabeth Delahunty started her career at Kodak in the IT department before moving to Business Imaging. She then worked in the Health Group, where she was involved in the introduction of digital imaging to customers in the radiology industry. She later led the transfer of Kodak’s Health business to Carestream in 2007.
Jim Healy
1951–1984
Jim Healy began his career in the engineering department in 1951, helping to set up black & white developing facilities at the new Burnley facility. He then worked at Abbotsford doing general maintenance and equipment fabrication before moving into improving the efficiency of the camera assembly lines.
John Harvey
1958–1970
John Harvey started his career as a trainee at Kodak’s Collins Street shop. Later John was promoted to the role of sales representative, in Melbourne’s CBD and in country Victoria. John moved onto other areas of sales within Kodak before leaving in 1970.
Marie De Camara
1946–1981
Marie De Camara started work at Kodak in 1946 in the Film Department at Abbotsford. She then moved to the Powder and Solution / Photochemical Department at Abbotsford, Burnley and later at Coburg before retiring after 35 years.
Michael & Lucy Mikedis
Michael, 1964–1977 & Lucy, 1964–1973
Michael Mikedis began his career at the Kodak factory in Abbotsford in 1964, as a storeman. He was promoted to stock planner and later worked as an estimator organising supplies in the Coburg Distribution Centre.
Lucy Mikedis worked in customer service in the mail order department at Abbotsford, then later was employed as secretarial support at Coburg. There she met Michael whom she married. Lucy left Kodak after the birth of their second child.
Noel Swan
1942–1948
Noel Swan started work in the Developing and Printing (D & P) Department at Abbotsford when he was 16 years old, during World War II. He joined the Royal Australian Air Force, and then after the war returned to his old job for a few more years.
Pat Hogan
1941–1981
Pat Hogan joined the company as a branch accountant at Abbotsford in the Head Office and was later Company Secretary and Treasurer at Coburg. He spent several years with the army during World War II, before returning to his job at Kodak.
Roy Porter
1954–1979
Roy Porter began his career at the Kodak factory in Abbotsford in 1964 as a draftsman in the physics research laboratory, working on improving machinery and processing. Roy later became a packaging design manager at Coburg.
Trish Lobb
1964–1992
Trish started at Kodak on the camera assembly line and doing electrical modifications in the Cameras, Reels and Sundries Department at Coburg. After a year she changed to office work, which she did for the next 27 years, becoming an executive secretary.
Val Bell
1937–1944
Val Bell began work at Kodak in the Film Department at Abbotsford before moving to work for Lionel Andrew and Elvin Teasdale, as a clerk in the Technical Directors office. Val was also an enthusiastic member of the Kodak women’s basketball team.
Yvonne Cameron
1964–1975
Yvonne Cameron started part-time at Kodak in the canteen at Coburg. She served at the milk bar and was the tea lady for Building 8. Yvonne later transferred to the photo shop, before becoming a typist in the Camera, Reels & Sundries Department.
Doug Howden
1984–2005
Doug Howden was a maintenance engineer in the instrument workshop who eventually became the manager of the Powerhouse operations at Kodak's Coburg factory. Doug worked on staff for Kodak from 1984-2005, but had been a contractor for several years prior to this, coming on to assist the maintenance team during the annual shutdown each year.
Acknowledgments
Kodak Australasia Pty Ltd
We would like to thank the following Kodak Australasia executives for their vision in ensuring the preservation of Kodak’s history, and their ongoing support of the collection at Museums Victoria: Kate Metcalf, John Allen, Greg McKibbin, Ed Woods and John Mitcham.
Digital Storytellers
Special thanks to the following former Kodak staff whose stories are currently showcased in videos on this site: Val Bell, Yvonne Cameron, Marie de Camara, Liz Delahunty, John Harvey, Jim Healy, Pat Hogan, Doug Howden, Trish Lobb, Michael and Lucy Mikedis, Brian Phillipson, Roy Porter, Betty Radstake and Noel Swan.
Oral History Interviewees
We would also like to thank all of the former Kodak staff and associated people who we interviewed for this project. Many of their stories already appear in various forms throughout this website and our Collections Online website, and more of these stories will be added in future. The interviews are also a valuable ongoing research resource.
Interviewees: Louis Shane Allan; John Allen; Lindsay Arnold; Darren Ash; Val Bell; Steve Brain; Jean Burt; Marie De Camara; Yvonne Cameron; Harry Clarke Jnr; Freda Cuthbert; Elizabeth Delahunty; Norm Ducksbury; Gordana Duzdevich; Brian Flynn; Graham Francis; Dr Will Fraser; John Garrett; Dr Ken Gifkins; Ron Gordon; Peter Habersberger; David Habersberger; John Harvey; Dr Peter Harvey; Jim Healy; Pat Hogan; Doug Howden; Roy Hughes; Peter Hunter OAM; Dr Gerry Johnston; John Kerr; John Lemcke; Trish Lobb; Diana Manson; Kate Metcalf; Jim McCoy; Alan McKay; Katherine McKay; Bruce McKay; Dot McKay; Greg McKibbin; Lucy Mikedis; Michael Mikedis; John Mitcham; Noel Monteith; Max Myers; Toni Myers; Brian Phillipson; Lothar Ploss; Roy Porter; Betty Radstake; Antony Rouse; Clare Rouse; Ron Salter; Thelma Sneazwell; Noel Swan; Michael Symonds; Professor Brian Tress; Cassandra Twomey; Murray Walton; Walter Whitworth; and Ed Woods.
Collection Donors
We thank the many members of the former Kodak staff community for their generous donations of Kodak related objects to the collection. Over 100 people have donated 1500 items, which bring Kodak’s history to life and expand the collection beyond the corporate record.
Collection Volunteers and Students
Museums Victoria has also been fortunate to have a range of students and volunteers contribute their time, skills and enthusiasm to documenting the collection. Thank you to Adrian, Andy, Arthur, Barrie, Camielle, Carissa, Claire, David (Baker Institute archivist), Dana, Dominic, Don, Ed, Grace, Ian, John, Les, Natasha, Neil, Nik, Noel, Rebecca, Ron, Ruth, Samuel, Sebastian and Stefanie.
Museums Victoria Staff
This website would not have been possible without the work of many current and former Museums Victoria staff. We extend our heartfelt thanks to the following people and departments, and more, who have supported not just this website, but the overall collection project at Museums Victoria since the acquisition of the collection:
Kodak Collection Project Lead: Fiona Kinsey
Kodak Snapshots Website curators: Fiona Kinsey and Catherine Forge
Society & Technology Department, in particular Lesley Alves, Liz Bramley, Charlotte Callander, Eloise Coccoli, Nick Crotty, Bec Davies, Angela de Jooste, Marita Dyson, Catherine Forge, Richard Gillespie, Lorenzo Iozzi, Karen J. Jakubec, Georgia Knight, Ruth Leveson, Jane Manallack, Caz McLennan, Jen McNair, Claire O’Meara, Hannah Perkins and Michelle Stevenson (Head of Department).
Digital Life Department, in particular Jeremy Pritchard, Veronica Scholes, Simon Sherrin, Cerise Howard and Richard Greenhalgh.
Media Production Department, especially John Broomfield, Rob Zugaro, Jon Augier and Sally Rogers-Davidson.
Collection Information Systems Department, including Ellen Burrows, Marija Bacic, Raquel Ashton, Lee-Anne Raymond, Sally O'Callaghan and Cathy Mulhall.
Strategic Collection Management especially Belinda Gourley, Karina Palmer, Penny Byrne, Jess McElhinney, Noni Zachri, Phil Masters and Rosemary Goodall from Conservation; Nev Quick and team from Collection and Research Facilities.
Marketing and Communications department especially Olivia Gumienny and Thomas Holloway.
Financial Planning, in particular Business and Grants Manager Khang Nguyen.
Public Information Department
Philanthropy and Partnerships Department
