Madam: the story of Flora MacKenzie

Flora MacKenzie is one of the most colourful characters in New Zealand history: A hard drinking, hard talking brothel owner from the 1960s and 70s who won the affection of sex workers, police and punters alike. In this episode of Black Sheep, we look at the legend of "Madam Flora".Flora MacKenzie is one of the most colourful characters in New Zealand history: A hard drinking, hard talking brothel owner from the 1960s and 70s who won the affection of sex workers, police and punters alike. There are all kinds of crazy stories about her: The time she threw a dead dog at her neighbour, her famous revolving bed, her close friendship with the head of the Auckland police vice squad.In this episode of Black Sheep, we look at the legend of Madam Flora.Elisabeth Easther is a playwright and actor - and also probably the closest thing to a Flora MacKenzie expert. "It's very hard to get to the truth," Easther said. "You hear so many different versions of , and you have to cobble it together from hearsay and newspaper articles and letters people write to you."Easther became fascinated by Flora MacKenzie after performing a monologue as her while at drama school. Later in Easther's career, she turned that monologue into a full play: Famous Flora - named after the brothel that MacKenzie ran for more than 30 years. Easther said Flora was the daughter of Sir Hugh MacKenzie, a rich and well regarded businessman who ran a horse stud in Māngere and served as head of the Auckland Harbour Board. "She was all horse races and debutante balls and being introduced to the Queen." According to Easther's sources, MacKenzie caused a minor scandal during a royal visit to New Zealand because she crossed her legs at the knee, rather than the ankle, while the Queen was present. "And I think she did it on purpose," Easther added. Flora began training as a nurse but gave it up because she couldn't stand the strict discipline of the nurse matrons. "She was determined to be her own person," explained historian Barbara Brookes, author of A History of New Zealand Women.Instead, MacKenzie traveled to Australia in the 1920s, mixed with the bohemian crowd in Sydney and developed a fascination with fashion design which she brought back to Auckland when she returned home. By 1927, she was the sole owner of Ninette Gowns, a high-end fashion shop on Queen Street. "And she's got a particular market that she knows how to cater to," Brookes said. "She took meticulous care ... some of the beautiful gowns are now in museum collections."…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details