'Three hours of thinking in five seconds': how museum staff calmed armed man

Staff chatting in the foyer on Wednesday afternoon made national headlines after a livestream video emerged revealing how they calmly asked the man to please go outside.

Newcastle Museum director Julie Baird told the Newcastle Herald of the moment they saw a man walk in carrying a knife and wearing clothes and tactical gear that covered him from almost head to toe, except for his eyes.

"They were cold," she said.

What unfolded next was an intense couple of minutes that felt like a lifetime.

One staff member went to call the police while Ms Baird and a male customer service officer remained in the foyer and confronted the man.

"We didn't know what was happening ... we were just faced with this situation," she said.

"Me and the other staff member just kept telling him to leave in what I keep calling 'mother and teacher voices'.

"We knew that we shouldn't approach him, we shouldn't tackle him, we shouldn't elevate things, no one should scream or run or cry ... we knew we just had to be calm but firm."

Ms Baird said she had seen reports describing their bravery and heroism, but felt they didn't have time to think, they slipped into professional mode and knew they had to protect visitors and other staff.

Livestream footage from the man's helmet camera showed the interaction in the museum at Honeysuckle lasted less than two minutes.

"It seemed like such a long time, it was like three hours of thinking in five seconds," Ms Baird said.

She told the Herald she was angry that a man had come into "our space" with a weapon.

"Newcastle Museum is a space where everyone is welcome, where we have a safe environment, and it's just a good place to have fun and learn. And here was this guy, trying not to do that. So we were quite cross," she said.

She described it like a moment from Lord of the Rings - staff protective of the museum were thinking "you shall not pass", "this is not happening".

The male customer service officer could be seen in the footage telling the man "you can't walk around like that" and asking him to go outside.

Another could be heard saying "no knives in public spaces".

Visitors, including young children, could be seen on the video entering the foyer and quickly backing out.

The man left, dropping his knife on a bench outside, and was swiftly arrested by police with Tasers drawn on Workshop Way at about 12.30pm while the museum went into lockdown.

The staff members didn't realise the significance of what they did - or how much worse it could have been - until media reports began emerging later that night.

Ms Baird said she was incredibly proud of her team for the way they handled the situation, and for other staff members who stepped up in the aftermath to help while those affected processed what had happened.

She thanked police for their swift and effective response, the community for their messages of gratitude, and council for offering counselling services and support, which had all helped staff from "falling to pieces".

Ms Baird said the incident at Newcastle Museum on June 26 was a "one-off" and police confirmed there was no ongoing threat to the community.

"I want to take the opportunity to assure people that they're safe and will continue to be safe, to appreciate my team for their incredible professionalism and calm in a really tense situation, and thank all the people who have sent messages of support," she said.

Counter-terrorism police allege Jordan Patten, a 19-year-old from Raymond Terrace, had written a 205-page manifesto and entered the museum with a knife after gearing up at Civic Theatre then briefly visiting Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp's office.

It was revealed in court Patten allegedly had an "intent to kill" the Labor party member and the magistrate said there were "strong overtones" of mental health issues.