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Jan Novák, who has passed away at the age of 90, was Mr. Photography in the City of Newcastle, NSW, for more than 40 years, as the owner of Novak Camera House.
In this day of electronic imaging and mass distribution, it's hard for younger industry members to imagine that the retailing world that Jan entered as a New Australian from Central Europe via South Africa in 1951, was one of recommended retail prices and quota-limited photo equipment imports, with black & white prints. When he retired just a few years ago, it was a world increasingly influenced by the Internet, digital imaging and the birth of Photo Books created electronically and printed with dry print method.
He worked in wholesale, he rose to be a manager, He dreamed of his own business. He created it. Jan, was one of the most determined and passionate men one could imagine.
That dream came true when he opened Novak Camera House in Newcastle.
Camera House, the leading cooperative in Australia has much to thank Jan for. In 1983, after a disastrous Duty Free venture, the group was in dire circumstances when Jan, along with John Miller, Alan Small, Roger Hart and Joe Magno rebuilt the organisation and its relationships with suppliers to help make the organisation what it is today.
Jan was always a pioneer. One of the first to install a minilab in the early eighties, a stickler for customer service, a man who understood the importance of community and the role of a regional shop in that community.
Jan was never without a camera at industry events, something that far too few people in our industry did then, or now. Thanks to Jan I developed the habit of also carrying a camera to events and for that I am very grateful for I have been able to capture many wonderful images over the years.
Jans war history can be read in his autobiography ' Let's add a little oil to the fire' (Zeus publications 2010) and definitely makes for interesting reading.
Men such as Jan Novak never bragged about their war service. But his pride in receiving a national medal of honour on a last visit to his country of birth just a few years ago, is matched by the honour that those who knew and worked with him had, in the presence of a true giant of our time.
Jan Novak: We who walk this earth in freedom today, do so because of the sacrifice and courage that you and so many of your generation showed. We salute your memory, your perseverance and your passion for life.
John Swainston, Maxwell MD, was a supplier to Novak Camera House for more than 25 years.
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