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Famous Flora's, the brothel named after Auckland's most notorious madam, has closed its doors after 30 years and is for sale.
Industry sources say Flora's is the victim of the proliferation of suburban, work-from-home brothels that have sprung up since Parliament legalised prostitution in June 2003.
But Roy King, whose father, Ron, ran Flora's for 30 years - believed to be the longest stint for a brothel in New Zealand - said the name was so well known it would be like buying Coca-Cola. The brothel is being advertised for sale for $550,000 plus GST and comes with Egyptian, Japanese, Roman, beach, Western and log-cabin theme rooms.
"Flora's springs to mind when anyone thinks of the industry," said Mr King, who runs two other brothels in the city.
He says Flora McKenzie was not impressed when his father opened the brothel trading on her name. On her one and only visit to the Pitt St business, she ranted and raved before walking out.
Ms McKenzie was the country's most infamous madam, earning an entry in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. She trained as a nurse and became an accomplished dress designer for Auckland's upper crust before entering the world of prostitution in the 1940s. Her father purchased a block of flats at Ring Tce in St Marys Bay.
Between 1962 and 1976, Ms McKenzie appeared in court six times on brothel-keeping charges and was twice jailed for six months, according to her entry by criminologist Dr Jan Jordan.
Her home was legendary and rumoured to have a rotating bed upstairs with panoramic harbour views. She operated the illegal brothel up until her death in 1982. The alcoholic was rumoured to have left her premises to the man who delivered her weekly crate of whisky, and her money went to the deaf.
She never liked the words "brothel" and "prostitute" and contended "every woman was a prostitute. Married men pay their wives, don't they?"
The brothel business has undergone big changes since prostitution was legalised. Many women have set up in suburban homes or pooled together to buy cheap apartments in the city.
One brothel keeper, who did not want to be named, said a lot of Asian women, often working illegally, were offering cheap deals. They ignored health checks and had none of the costs of brothel licences, food and liquor licences of the established businesses. Another source said rugby and rugby league players preferred visiting small "whore-houses" where they would not be recognised.
Annah Pickering, the Auckland regional manager of the Prostitutes Collective, said Flora's was the victim of competition and the changing face of the sex industry. The internet had changed adult sex entertainment with free sex sites, sites like NZDating and adult cruising clubs.
"It would be nice for Flora's to be turned into a museum. It is part of history, the first brothel to be opened by a prestigious madam."
