Obituary: John ‘Flash’ Jamieson, former Dannevirke News photographer

It was a proud moment for John Jamieson when he received his private pilot's licence after 75 flying hours.

Photography, family and flying were the three main passions of John Jamieson, a well-loved and respected Dannevirke identity.

John William Jamieson, widely known as “Flash” or “JWJ”, died on Thursday, March 2. It was also the day of his 85th birthday.

It was in his role as a photographer for Dannevirke Evening News that John was most renowned.

With his camera around his neck and his trademark bowtie, John was a familiar sight around the Tararua District.

John was born in Pahiatua, the eldest son of William and Pauline Jamieson of Woodville, brother of Peter, Jill and the late Noel and Paul.

John attended the old Hopelands School and was a boarder at Dannevirke High School.

His secondary education ended after two years when John had to leave to take on the responsibility of working on the family farm on Bluff Rd, Hopelands, as his father’s health was failing.

It was during this time John took up photography as a hobby.

Living in a large farmhouse meant John was able to convert a bedroom into a darkroom.

With the help of books, John taught himself to develop black-and-white films and, when he had mastered that skill, he bought an enlarger and learned to make prints.

He gradually started taking photographs of local organisations and selling the prints.

As there was no photographer in Woodville, John became in-demand for private functions. This saw him working on the farm during the week, and on most weekends he would be covering weddings and 21st birthdays.

In 1962, the farm was leased and the family moved to Woodville, and this allowed John to become a full-time freelance photographer.

John Jamieson was the photographer for Dannevirke Evening News for 31 years.

His newspaper career virtually started by accident that same year.

He had photographed a car accident in Woodville, and the local reporter for the now-defunct Manawatū Daily Times asked if the paper could use John’s photos.

In 1967, the Evening News was establishing a photography department. Then-associate editor Warren Barton approached John to gauge his interest in a full-time position.

John took up the offer and started work on May 15, 1967.

He was totally dedicated to his role, which he worked in for 31 years.

In his eulogy, John’s brother Peter spoke of this dedication.

He said family members would gather for special celebrations only for John to leave, saying he had to go to work.

To John, his job took precedence over anything else.

One special project he undertook as part of his job was to learn to fly, a desire John said he’d had since he was a schoolboy.

In August 1969, John took up flying lessons. With the co-operation of Dannevirke Flying School and instructor Colin Sandbrook, John’s progress was chronicled in a weekly series of articles that he wrote.

His first lesson was classroom-based, but during lesson two, John accomplished what he set out to do, and that was take to the air.

“My instructor’s verdict on lesson number one: not too bad,” John wrote. ”My instructor’s verdict on lesson number two: a bit wobbly but progressing satisfactorily.”

Thirteen months and 75 flying hours after taking his first flight, John received his private pilot’s licence.

The Dannevirke Evening News staff, back in the days when the Appleton family owned it. John Jamieson can be seen at the top of the stairs (back, wearing glasses).

Over the years the printing process changed dramatically, moving from hot metal to cold type, a photographic process.

This saw a shift in John’s role. His photography background meant it was logical for him to become more involved in the production side and spend less time taking photographs.

John then trained a number of photographers - among them was Karen Blair.

Karen and John worked together for 10 years, and during that time they formed a long-lasting friendship.

”We had an awesome friendship and still do to this day, 35 years on.”

Karen said “we just clicked”, and John became a big part of her family.

Speaking at John’s funeral, Karen recounted some of the standout assignments they covered together.

“One was the Mother’s Day earthquake in 1990, and the other was the Dash-8 plane crash in 1995.

“John would agree with this, as we often spoke about these events.

“John and I have no more tomorrows to share, but yesterday’s memories will always be there.”

On November 6, 1998, John was made redundant when management made the decision to shift the printing of the paper from Dannevirke to Hastings.

In a speech to Dannevirke Probus, John said he was happy to walk out of the doors of the news office at that time, as his health had started to decline - eventually resulting in heart surgery.

John joined Probus after leaving work and threw his energy into it, taking on the role of publishing the regular newsletter.

In his later years, John traded his car for a scooter, and he was regularly seen travelling from his home in Ruahine St to town and stopping to talk to the many people he had come to know through his work.

John said the most rewarding part of his job was the interesting people he met and the different things and interesting places he saw.

John’s health deteriorated, and it was in June last year that he moved to Eileen Mary Resthome.

John was farewelled at a graveside service at Mangatera Cemetery on Tuesday, March 7, where he lies alongside his father, mother and aunt.