A 33-year-old man suffered a suspected broken cheekbone, a damaged eye socket and broken ribs after he was bashed outside a Paihia bar.
The man was taken to Bay of Islands Hospital after the early morning assault on Sunday.
Police have arrested and charged three Mid-North men with assault for the attack
which occurred outside a Kings Rd backpackers and bar at 12.50am.
The three men accused of carrying out the attack - aged in their 20s - are to appear in the Kaikohe District Court later this week.
Bay of Islands Police area commander Senior Sergeant Dan Dickison said police were yet to talk to a fourth man about the incident.
The assault is an example of the type of behaviour which prompted a group of angry Paihia motel and business owners to complain about an emerging "yob culture" in the popular tourist town.
In a letter addressed to Far North Mayor Yvonne Sharp and copied to local police and MPs earlier this year, the business owners complained of the large number of "raucous" drunk people leaving Kings Rd bars, which closed at 1am, and heading to other Paihia bars which stayed open longer.
When those bars closed, they returned to accommodation on Kings Rd, leaving a trail of vandalism and destruction.
"The litter is appalling, broken glass, cans and plastic bottles thrown onto our properties together with vomiting and urinating where they please," the letter said.
Paihia's image as "a family holiday and tourist destination" was fast being eroded, the letter said.
