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�A continental touch�: international and national influences on the development of coffee houses in Wellington from the 1940s to the present day
By
Global trends
The rise of coffee houses in the 1940s, 50s and 60s was not a phenomenon confined to Wellington, or indeed to New Zealand. While such establishments were an innovation in New Zealand, places where they already existed, such as the United States and Britain, suddenly experienced a proliferation.
The primary reason seems to have been the impact of global war on food consumption. Food scholars agree that war, and the subsequent crumbling of colonial empires, led to world-wide waves of immigration which broke down the boundaries of national cuisines. Additional reasons include post-war recovery, the rise of youth culture, and increasing affluence and leisure. A more specific influence may have been the invention in 1946 by Achille Gaggia of a reliable espresso machine.
The decline of coffee houses in the late 1960s and 1970s seems also to have occurred in countries other than New Zealand. In Britain this was attributed to �a ruinous combination of urban economics and social agoraphobia�; in Vienna the popularity of bars led to a brief lean period. But in the 1980s and 1990s coffee bars made a comeback. While the café may never have entirely disappeared, in some countries (New Zealand included) the resurgence was particularly noticeable. Reasons include the increase in international travel, the breaking down of communication and trade barriers, and the impact of global fashions.
European immigrants
In New Zealand, national trends and events also contributed to the rise, decline, and eventual return of the coffee bar. Perhaps the most important was immigration before and after the Second World War. From 1936 a small number of European refugees began arriving in New Zealand. They were dismayed at the absence of cafés, and when establishments such as Wellington�s French Maid opened in the 1940s, refugees tended to gather there. In other places, refugees set up their own cafés: for example in Hamilton in the late 1930s Kurt Phillips, a German Jew from Cologne, started the Vienna coffee house.
The American influence
Another early influence was the stationing of American troops in Auckland and Wellington from 1942. While special service clubs catered for these soldiers� cravings for familiar foods, local outlets also emerged to serve the need. In Wellington, coffee shops and milk bars are said to have sprung up along Willis Street and Lambton Quay, while in Auckland places such as Somervells Milk and Coffee Bar were established in response to the American demand.
Changes in New Zealand society
The novelty of these new cafés was more generally appealing. It has been suggested that New Zealanders were by this time more open to trying other types of food and drink, partly because of the rise of a local-born population and the weakening of links with the British food tradition. Moreover New Zealand writers, musicians, artists and scholars�as well as the educated middle classes�welcomed European immigrants and the culture they brought with them. The pervasiveness of American films and fashions may also have encouraged young people to adopt American customs.
Post-war immigration and travel
Post-war immigration brought more European migrants to New Zealand, keen to recreate the ambience of the café in their new land. Assisted immigration from the Netherlands ensured that the Dutch were influential from the 1950s. However, it appears that they were just participating in a national movement, influenced by the overseas boom in coffee houses. Auckland, like Wellington, experienced a sudden upsurge in cafés in the late 1950s and they appeared even in smaller towns. Increased travel among younger people, particularly young women, seems to have been significant.
New Zealand�s liquor laws
New Zealand�s antiquated liquor laws, which prohibited the sale of alcohol in restaurants and limited hotel hours to 9 am to 6 pm, contributed to the popularity of coffee houses in the 1950s. Many cafés stayed open until late�often the early hours of the morning. They filled a growing need for night-time entertainment. Women, effectively excluded from drinking alcohol in public except in the lounge bars of hotels until the 1970s, may well have found coffee bars a more congenial place to socialise. They often served good food, as the forerunners of licensed restaurants, and sometimes openly challenged the liquor laws by allowing patrons to smuggle in bottles of wine. Futile police raids gained them favourable publicity and in 1960 licensing laws were changed to allow restaurants to serve wine with food. However, the �six o�clock swill� remained in force until 1967, ensuring that cafés continued to perform a vital social role as places of evening entertainment.
The decline of coffee houses
The decline of coffee houses in the late sixties can also be attributed to national events. The change in the liquor laws in 1967 to allow hotels to remain open until 10 pm provided the public with another form of nightlife. The growing importance of processed foods, including instant coffee, in the diet of New Zealanders from the mid 1960s, could have been another factor. It has also been suggested that as a result of import restrictions after the �black budget� of 1958, it was no longer possible to import espresso machines or spare parts for them. Finally, the rise of television may have made home entertainment more attractive.
Resurgence
The return of the café in the eighties and nineties perhaps owes more to international than to national trends, although it has been suggested that deregulation and the growth of business enterprises, a more pluralistic society, and the increase in numbers of New Zealanders travelling overseas have all contributed. More restrictive drink/drive laws may also have played a part, making cafés safer and more attractive venues for socialising than pubs.
Is the Wellington café scene unique?
Given the importance of both national and international influences, what was unique about the Wellington café scene? It appears that national trends were reflected in Wellington and it would be rash to claim that it was significantly different in its essentials. However, some local features, including climate and geography, the city�s status as centre of government and major port, patronage from the large student and arts communities, and the eccentric personalities of some of the owners and habitués, have helped to shape Wellington�s café culture.
While there have been some modifications, it can be suggested that many of the functions of the modern Wellington café are the same as those of its predecessors both in Wellington and elsewhere. Wellington�s café society fits into a wider pattern, where developments on both the national and international scene have been crucial.