Fireworks attack scares children

St John Ambulance staff treated five children for burns after an incident at Mangatapu Marae. Photo / Joel Ford

Local youths who threw live fireworks into a crowd of visiting kapa haka children have driven the group out of town, in fear for their safety.

St John Ambulance staff treated five children for burns after the incident at Mangatapu Marae on Tuesday night.

The children, who were from Kaikohe, were in Tauranga to take part in the Te Mana Kuratahi Whakataetae Kapa a Motu 2013, held at ASB Arena this week.

They were due to return home at the end of the week but left four days early, frightened by the incident.

A St Johns spokesperson said they were called to the marae around 9pm.

"Some kids were hiding in the bushes and threw those fireworks that explode into balls into a crowd of people," he said.

"There were flaming balls going everywhere.

"Five of the children received treatment for superficial burns, to the feet, knees and stomachs.

"Thankfully the children were not badly hurt so they did not need to be taken to hospital.

"They would have got a massive shock though."

Maungatapu Marae Committee secretary Wakata Kingi said she was aware of three young people who came down to the marae and fired live fireworks into the crowd of children. She said the group of children were so frightened by what happened, they travelled home straight after the last kapa haka show. "I'm really gutted that they did that to our visitors," she said.

"The kids actually didn't want to go home but for safety reasons they thought they better go."

Ms Kingi said the incident was upsetting "but they know it's not the marae or iwi kids".

Maungatapu resident Macka Rawiri said he had just arrived home when he saw people coming up from the marae, looking for the offenders.

"I just saw this mob of angry people coming up the hill, screaming out. They were asking 'Have you seen these young fellas? Someone threw some fireworks at us'."

Mr Rawiri said he was disgusted at the incident, especially because it happened on a marae.

"You don't go around causing things like that.

"This is where my daughter goes to kohanga [school]," he said.

"If I had seen them, I know what I would have done to them - send them straight to those angry people."

Event volunteer Jack Thatcher said the group performed on Tuesday and left yesterday.

"We refunded them and they went home."

They had planned to stay all week but the kids, or whoever, did the dumb thing out at the marae and it's pretty much over now, Mr Thatcher said.

"There's a lot of madness about fireworks. Too many people running around with fireworks."

Mr Thatcher's Maketu shelterbelt was set alight on Tuesday night by people driving past and letting off fireworks from the car they were travelling in.

He said Maungatapu Marae was his marae and he was saddened that its mana was now impacted by the incident.

"Basically their memories of Tauranga won't be as happy as they should have been," he said.