Flora MacKenzie
Encyclopedia
Flora MacKenzie was a New Zealand
dress designer and brothel
owner, based in Auckland
for most of her life.
, Auckland
. After finishing secondary school, she began to train as a nurse, but did not accept discipline from the matrons who supervised trainee nursing activities. However, she discovered that she did have a flair for dressmaking, and opened Ninettes in Vulcan Lane, Auckland. Her shop became highly successful, attracting a prosperous clientele from Auckland's more affluent suburbs.
. When the United States entered World War II
, New Zealand experienced an influx of American service personnel bound for the Pacific theatre of operations
. She ran a clean establishment, with discretion ensured, and regular medical examinations for the female sex workers who lived in her venue. She lived on-site in an apartment with a waterbed, and had an affair with a naval lieutenant, who failed to return from the war.
While she was brought before the courts on the matter of "living off the proceeds of prostitution", this resulted in a hung jury
twice, and she was not convicted thereafter. According to one witness, she was also solicitous about the spiritual welfare of her clients. When Flora died in 1982, her funeral was well-attended, for she had become a cherished civic figure, despite her occupational sideline.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
dress designer and brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
owner, based in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
for most of her life.
Early life
Born in 1902, Flora was the daughter of Sir Hugh Ross MacKenzie, a farmer and horse stud owner in MangereMangere
Māngere is one of the larger suburbs in South Auckland, in northern New Zealand.The suburb is located on flat land at the northeastern shore of the Manukau Harbour, to the northwest of the centre of Manukau city and 15 kilometres south of Auckland city centre...
, Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
. After finishing secondary school, she began to train as a nurse, but did not accept discipline from the matrons who supervised trainee nursing activities. However, she discovered that she did have a flair for dressmaking, and opened Ninettes in Vulcan Lane, Auckland. Her shop became highly successful, attracting a prosperous clientele from Auckland's more affluent suburbs.
Brothel ownership
Flora embraced the sexual freedom of the 1920s, and soon found that there were other young women that wanted a private venue within which to pursue their relationships. In time, this branched out to female sex workers as well. Her father realised that Flora would probably never marry, and bought her a series of properties in Ring Terrace, PonsonbyPonsonby
Ponsonby is a surname which may refer to:*Arthur Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede was a British politician, writer, and social activist...
. When the United States entered World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, New Zealand experienced an influx of American service personnel bound for the Pacific theatre of operations
Pacific Theater of Operations
The Pacific Theater of Operations was the World War II area of military activity in the Pacific Ocean and the countries bordering it, a geographic scope that reflected the operational and administrative command structures of the American forces during that period...
. She ran a clean establishment, with discretion ensured, and regular medical examinations for the female sex workers who lived in her venue. She lived on-site in an apartment with a waterbed, and had an affair with a naval lieutenant, who failed to return from the war.
While she was brought before the courts on the matter of "living off the proceeds of prostitution", this resulted in a hung jury
Hung jury
A hung jury or deadlocked jury is a jury that cannot, by the required voting threshold, agree upon a verdict after an extended period of deliberation and is unable to change its votes due to severe differences of opinion.- England and Wales :...
twice, and she was not convicted thereafter. According to one witness, she was also solicitous about the spiritual welfare of her clients. When Flora died in 1982, her funeral was well-attended, for she had become a cherished civic figure, despite her occupational sideline.