Jos Divis

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. It is thought that he worked in mining in Germany before emigrating to New Zealand in 1909. Because of this he has been called the "inventor of the selfie".

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

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

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

Divis work and archive has inspired and informed the work of artist and photographer Caroline McQuarrie.