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Article (R. Berg)
Article (S. Staley)
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Monde Marie and Mary Seddon 1958-1970
Fond memories of Monde Marie Coffee House and Mary Seddon
Please post or e-mail your memories to Jane Burke for insertion to this page
We thank you for your thoughts to help keep this history alive
page up-dated 28th December 09
Richard Doctors - see his web site richarddoctors@gmail.com
Hey there Jane. A persons character is a complex thing. Mary and I were from different generations and backgrounds, and yet we had some vitally strong common ground. The love of incisive and intelligent conversation, the sense of bourgeois aristocracy based on ones artistic backbone, the keen love of divine profanity and a hearty laugh, an appreciation that if today is all we have then to hell with tomorrow, and all this robust armour defending a private sensitive and soft inner core. I know we shared this, even when she would yell out from the kitchen "keep singing the food's not ready yet".
She was a queen and peasant as much as I was a prince minstrel and pauper. Her spirit lives on. There are times when I get steamed up, sometimes over trite nothings, and I'll be flamboyantly theatrical and end up laughing at myself wishing I could share that moment with a soul mate. Its not the quantum of time that really matters, its the events that soak it up. I loved the way she would bag Bob Dylan. She often said that his indignant and complaining poetry had made him disgustingly rich, and if he sang any more about poverty she would throw up! Mary le Cool. Just a few thoughts for you. Cheers Richard D.
Bruce King: I am fascinated and delighted with your efforts in putting together a website in honour of your intrepid Aunt Mary! She was a character indeed . . . called me "darling" and generously plied me as I sang, with an array of laced coffees and toasted sandwiches to "keep the voice lubricated, darling." I performed (guitar & vocals) at the Monde Marie regularly (one particular night a week for the better part of a year) around 1960 or 1961. I recall also, an Italian or Greek singer by the name of Ronnie (if memory serves me right) — a regular and very energetic performer with a golden voice. I do have some great photographs from the era including one or two shots taken at the Monde which include some of the International folksingers mentioned on your site such as Josh White, Judy Collins etc. Val Murphy was also a regular in those days as was Max Winnie. I was there on the eve of that big Wellington concert (circa 1962) featuring Josh White & Judy Collins as well as the wonderful folk duo of Bud & Travis (Travis just recently has died) plus The Rooftop Singers (known for their song "Walk Right In") and The Limelighters—all top performers from the USA. Following this wonderful concert, a "full-on" party ensued at the Monde. An event from that evening remains etched in my memory: An incident arose where, at the height of the festivities and coffee house babble, suddenly the Monde was plunged into total silence for a tense few moments. As we all watched in amazement, Josh White very skillfully, and with few gentle, yet powerful words, put in his place properly a prominent Wellington "bohemian" of the day, who was getting seriously loud and rude, having presumably consumed too much booze. It was a masterful display of social adeptness, never to be forgotten. Later, when the Monde finally closed for the evening, I had the pleasure of driving Josh White to his hotel room, whereupon he invited me in for a "drink" (whisky from a recycled milk bottle, would you believe!) and I stayed until the sun came up singing and playing guitar with this extraordinary bluesman. As I recall, as well as tearfully relaying to me his tragic life story in detail, he taught me how to play and sing the song "Black Girl." An evening to remember, thanks to Mary and her wonderful Monde Marie.
Some years ago, I designed a poster which captured some of the spirit of the "folk era" of the early 1960's. I could pdf a copy of this to you for your website if you feel it would be of value. It contains within it, the aforementioned Monde Marie photos. I also have (somewhere) a very clear copy of Mary's obituary from the Evening Post if you don't already have it—it's a classic! PDF
Francois
Rochecouste:
Julian Ward: I first went to the Monde in about 1967 as a rather shy teen. I remember enjoying the folk music and joining in when I could, or at least when I found the courage. I became a regular for a few years and I remember Mary, and the toasted sandwiches. The Port Nicholson Folk Club the Folk Lore Society all operated from the Monde at different times, under the iron rule of Frank Fyfe. I later became a film maker and was making a film about Frank Fyfe (Colonial NZ) when he died. We managed to make one programme which is now stored in the Film Archives. My love of music is mainly because Mary made available a venue such as the Monde and I could get to hear some great voices. And, that she encouraged the 'pure' folk music scene (as opposed to the rabble at the Chez down the road). Having said that, I did end up playing at the Chez (shame).
Phil Garland: I'm a Kiwi folksinger originally from Christchurch now living in the Nth Canterbury township of Culverden. I sang at the Monde Marie a couple of times around 1967 - 68 whenever I was in Wellington.
Mary was always very friendly, knowledgeable and supportive particularly of those, who sang New Zealand songs and I remember her joining us to take part in a N.Z. Folklore Society concert in the Concert Chamber of the Wellington Town Hall. She didn't sing of course but made a couple of brief acting appearances in full colonial costume, which went down well.
Mary Seddon always commanded an impressive presence and stood out in a crowd especially when wearing the long fullish dress or skirt she used to wear. This isn't being derogatory but on some occasions she could almost look like a spanish galleon under full sail.
You can visit my website www.philgarland.co.nz for my full biographical background.
Arthur Toms -- Don Toms: arthurtoms@xtra.co.nz I'm the son of Don Toms, who was the same generation of singers as Jim Delahunty, Terry Bryan, Peter Cape and Vern Priestley - he also arranged and accompanied ("captured and domesticated", as he put it) Peter cape's songs. My mother played mouth harp on the Peter Cape records?
Arthur Toms, Pauline Harter, Mike Birch Made up an early Wellington Folk group. Arthur Toms popularised Peter Cape's songs.
John ward: It was an interesting time and interesting to reflect on. Marie ran a tight ship with a pretty firm hand. As someone said she was pretty wary of Bob Dylan....Bob pushed the boundaries and of course that was cool for many people, but you couldn't just play any old Dylan song at Marie's. Songs had to be more traditional. "Sing Out" was a little book that came out pretty regularly, and if you learnt stuff from this it was acceptable. Of course Joan Baez was a great source, also.
Internet discussion between Richard Mills, Helen
Phare and Sharyn Staley, 10 Nov 1999 RM (reflectively): When I was 17, I once sang for eight hours straight at the Monde Marie in Wellington, for Marie whatsername - my own two-hour booked stint, and then covering the stints of the three subsequent artists who failed to front for their shows. Towards the end she was fortifying me with rum-laced coffees. It was all by ear - thank God for a transient audience.
HP: She was Mary Seddon if I remember correctly. I used to play there in the late sixties for $1 per hour and was grateful for the work. She used to feed us afterwards on cheese and tomato sauce sandwiches. Which I was grateful for also.
RM: That's the one. Used to be a great gig, fed a lot of folkies, and I wouldn't have been that accommodating for another, perhaps. It was my choice to sing that long - I just kept on filling in at her request as singers failed to front that day - dunno what happened, just one of those days. It was later things went sour. We prolly crossed tracks, you and I - I used to live at 2 Roxburgh Street, right beside it, for a while, but I went to Christchurch in, hmmm, 67?
SS: She still is Mary Seddon! She was certainly still alive a couple of years ago when I last had contact with her - she's in her 80s (or maybe 90s by now). I used to work in her kitchen, as did many of the folkies. We started around 6-7pm and some nights we didn't get away until 3 or 4 in the morning if a good sing around session started up, however she did feed us too and allow us free coffee. We didn't mind the hours as most of us wanted to work there for the music as much as the money.
Article courtesy Dominion 8 July 2000:
Mike Stebbings writes: caryllandmike1@bigpond.com
I lived in Wellington around 1961-64 having come from Motueka as 16 year old. At the time, I for a long while shared a top floor flat over Maitland Radio Coy in Cambridge Terrace? (or the other side) - (the eastern side from memory) with Max Winnie and Bruce McDonald (Film/TV Producer). I also sang (although poorly) at the Monde Marie and the Chez Paree.
I remember my first seeing TV in a cafe somewhere near the bus terminal in Courtenay Place? down near the Empire Theatre and the show we watched was a Josh White Special. Josh White came out 8-10 months later for a concert and sang in concert and at the Monde Marie. He actually came back to Cambridge Terrace later and sat playing the guitar with the "smoke behind the ear."
Another visitor to Mary's was a fellow by the name of Nick Villard, and the place would fill with females when he arrived. I think he came from Auckland or somewhere up that way. And there was also a trad banjoist by the name of Craig Berry, and his specialty was Satchmo style and "Mack the Knife" etc.
I used to do gardening for Mary, and she would tell me stories about the Monde Marie and the various personalities and "her people". Sometimes I would stay over at her house as I had no way to get back home with my guitar. I was always well fed all the time and I also remember the pasta dishes at the Monde well; for all intents and purposes she probably kept me alive.
The scene as I noticed somewhere, may have been getting "Poppyfied" at the time, but as a consequence, the Monde Marie saw some fairly heavy personalities including Judy Collins, Paul Stookey and Mary Travers, Josh White, to name a few, and there were numerous concerts at the Wellington Town Hall including Segovia, PPM, Julian Bream, and others that I will remember later.
I have a lot of fond memories of the time in Wellington, which ended when Max, Craig and I left for the Gold Coast in Queensland to sing for Keith (Dunstan?), the previous owner of the Chez Paree.
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