Friday was opening night for one of the country's rarest museums.
The Charlotte Museum is New Zealand's - and some say the world's - only lesbian museum.
It may now be tucked nicely in K Rd's back streets but The Charlotte Museum is still impossible to miss.
The museum has been relocated a handful of times in its 16-year history but it's now returned home to Auckland's Karangahape Rd.
"It's really exciting," museum director Sarah Buxton said. "It's an opportunity for us to do things we couldn't do before."
Friday night saw the curtain lift on rare snapshots of underground 90s and early 2000s lesbian nightlife.
The exhibit View of OUR STREET features photos taken by Melanie Church from her personal collection.
Beyond the exhibit - the museum is full of artifacts celebrating the history of one of Aotearoa's most vibrant communities - one that's seen tough times.
"Lesbianism was labelled a mental illness by the Department of Health until 1973 and that's not that long ago," Buxton said.
New Zealand's come a long way since then.
Activist and museum founder Miriam Saphira said starting the musuem was a no brainer.
"I didn't want young people to go through the young agony I had," she said. "It's special because it's museum not just an archive."
Seeing a space like this go up is just too good to be true for some.
"To be a lesbian in a lesbian museum is just mind-blowing and comfortable - really comfortable," said Fran Hazid of The Charlotte Museum Trust Aotearoa.
"It means so much to have this space for us."
The new space also means new beginnings - and the doors are wide open.
Watch the full video for more.
