Spectrum 771. The days of the Monde Marie

Rights Information
Year
1992
Reference
10707
Media type
Audio
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Rights Information
Year
1992
Reference
10707
Media type
Audio
Duration
00:36:20
Credits
RNZ Collection
Jerome Cvitanovich, Interviewer
Mary SEDDON, Interviewee

Mary Seddon, (granddaughter of New Zealand Premier Richard John Seddon), recalls her early years in Wellington and the coffee bar "Monde Marie", which she opened in the late 1950s at the beginning of the "folk" era and the start of cafe culture.

Mary, who was born in 1924, talks about the cafe's decor, the origins of its name, the spectrum of customers, the food and difficulty she had trying to get a wine licence (which led to a court conviction).

She tells producer Jerome Cvitanovich that she returned from overseas in the 1950s to find local restaurants couldn't get liquor licences.

She describes the typical decor and how her new establishment offered something different. She explains that she ran the Monde Marie quite strictly- so a father would be happy for his daughter to go there, without worrying that she might be 'picked up' by a man.

She talks about the variety of patrons she remembers and the food she served. She made submissiosn to a select ocmmittee of Parliament to try and get a second-tier of liquor licence allowing smaller establishments to swerve New Zealand wine.

Mary ran foul of the outdated licensing laws and was raided by police after giving certain customers a free shot of rum in their coffee. she appeared in court and

She talks about early folk groups performing at the Monde Marie - heavily influenced by The Kingston Trio and recalls how they used to turn down the speakers to discourage poor singers.

Later in the 1960s, the influence of drugs began to appear in her patrons' behaviour and she describes an incident involving a naked young woman.