A group of anti-mask protesters who gathered outside the Auckland War Memorial Museum on Tuesday forced the facility to close temporarily.
The group, led by parents of home schooled children, refused to wear masks, a current requirement of the museum at the Red setting of the traffic light system.
All Museum visitors aged 12 and over are required to wear a mask.
In a statement, a museum spokesperson said that, "mid-morning on Tuesday April 5, a large group of members of the public congregated at the Cenotaph in front of the north entry to the museum building.
"Museum security staff monitored the situation before making a decision to close public access to the north entry. Around 11am the gathering moved to the south entry, and a decision was made to shut that door. Police were advised and attended onsite.
“For a short period, to ensure the safety and security of our people and collections, the museum was temporarily closed.
“The museum reopened to the public at 1.20pm. We apologise sincerely for the inconvenience caused to our customers," the spokesperson said.
Police told 1News they were monitoring a gathering of protesters at the Auckland Domain this afternoon.
"A small number of the group have attempted to enter the indoor premises of Auckland Museum without a face covering.
"The entire gathering has since left Auckland Domain and police are no longer in attendance."
Co-Founder of Voices For Freedom, Claire Deeks, who was in attendance, posted the incident to Facebook on Tuesday replying to a comment which explained mask-wearing rules, that masks are not mandatory if a person is exempt.
Deeks told 1News she said she was there with her 10-year-old son and it wasn't a Voices For Freedom-based event.
She said there were 42 kids with about 30 adults supervising.
"One person showed their mask exemption to security and they went away to verify it and didn't come back."
It's not clear if the parents had valid mask exemptions or not.
Deeks says she disagrees with the museum's rules making masks mandatory and that it wasn't a protest.
"I'm surprised to hear the museum being so strict, denying access to rate-paying citizens and their children who have not been able to visit for 123 days.
"If somebody had asked us to stagger our entry or tell us to wear masks we would have."
She said it was knee-jerk reaction by the museum. Deeks said she approached police, who did not engage with the group.
The museum spokesperson said about 20 visiting tertiary students were unable to enter the facility due to the closure.
They said it is aware of a "group called Voices for Freedom that is sharing information via social media related to their museum activity today".
Tuesday marked the first day in which Kiwis who aren't vaccinated against Covid-19 are given more freedoms, with vaccine passes being scrapped overnight.
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