Residents help police deal with main-street brawl

An argument boiled over into a brawl in Alexandra. Picture / Otago Daily Times

The Central Otago town of Alexandra is known for its rich gold mining history, extreme temperatures, bumper stonefruit harvests ... and now its Boxing Day brawl.

Residents of the town of 6000 were shocked when the main street erupted into a melee involving up to 50 people on Monday night.

Families visiting on holiday had to rush for cover as fists and bottles flew and the town's two police battled to bring the brawl under control. Several people sustained minor injuries.

Senior Constable Ian Kerrisk said violence on such a scale was almost unheard of in Alexandra, about an hour's drive from Queenstown.

"The locals are fairly shocked by what has occurred, as are we all. It's not what we expect here," he said.

"The biggest concern we had is that we are a spot where families come for Christmas and New Year, and this has occurred in the main street and right in the middle of mum, dad and the kids and normal Joe Bloggs citizen. That's what probably upset us and disgusted us the most."

Thirteen people from Alexandra, Balclutha and Invercargill had been arrested yesterday. They range in age from 18 to 24 and will appear in court next month. More arrests may follow.

Mr Kerrisk said it appeared 12 carloads of people on a tour from the lower South Island argued with a group of locals over a stolen wallet.

A car window was smashed and the violence erupted from there. Volunteer firefighters had to help detain those arrested, while members of the public assisted police by guarding police cars.

"We are satisfied it was a one-off."

Central Otago District mayor Malcolm Macpherson, an Alexandra resident, was keen to play down the brawl as a "handbags at five paces type of thing".

Families came to Alexandra to enjoy some boating on the region's lakes, hiking in the wide open spaces and the peace and quiet.

"We don't get the sort of trouble that you get at the Mount [Maunganui] or other northern centres over the holiday period. So from that respect it is a bit of a surprise," he said.

"Although it has made national headlines this morning, it doesn't really deserve that level of treatment in my view. Let's not get our knickers in a knot and declare world war three."

While traditional rivalries between Central Otago youths and those from the deep south sometimes led to "fisticuffs", it was not the norm.

Mr Macpherson said Alexandra and the Central Otago district was enjoying a boom.

"It's unlike anything we have seen since the gold rush in the 1840s and 50s. There's lots of new shops, there's new building going on, there's lot of investment coming into this part of the world."