A menu from the French Maid Coffee House The interior of the French Maid Coffee House, 1940s By Nancy Swarbrick The rise of coffee houses in the 1940s, 50s and 60s was not a phenomenon confined to Wellington, or indeed to New Zealand.
Herbs are considered pioneers of the Pacific reggae sound. Their 1982 hit 'French letter', questioning French nuclear testing in the South Pacific, expressed the country's anti-nuclear stance.
The Catholic mission fuelled fears of French plans to annex New Zealand, but the number of French missionaries and mission stations remained heavily outnumbered by the Protestant faiths.
