Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum will be closed to the public this weekend after testing positive for asbestos.
Dust was found following heritage work investigations last month in Te Marae Ātea Māori Court and the Pacific Galleries, a spokesperson for the museum said this evening, and it had tested positive for static asbestos.
The galleries would be closed “as a precautionary measure to prepare the spaces for asbestos cleaning and removal”.
The grand foyer will also close after subsequent swab testing in the area came back positive for asbestos.
“Given the grand foyer is a primary evacuation route, its closure means the Museum must establish alternative evacuation procedures. As a result, the entire Museum will be closed this weekend while fire evacuation plans are reviewed in consultation with a fire engineer.”
The museum is working under the guidance of a licensed asbestos assessor, the spokesperson said, and risk assessments have been carried out daily following its discovery.
The neoclassical building in the Auckland Domain, constructed in the 1920s and ’50s, was one of the country’s busiest sites. There were 889,808 visitors to the museum the 2023/23 year despite several closures due to weather events.
Buildings of the museum’s age commonly contained historic building materials that included asbestos.
Museum facilities would continue to be monitored by essential security and facilities management staff.
