Girl stabbed with broken bottle

Police are following lines of enquiry after the girl was stabbed with a broken bottle. Photo / File

A 17-year-old girl was stabbed in the face with a broken bottle as she made her way home from New Year's Eve celebrations in Gisborne last night - one of the more serious incidents to mar a relatively quiet New Year's Eve around the country.

The girl was taken to hospital with injuries to her eye, but was now okay, Gisborne senior Sergeant Moera Brown said.

Police had not arrested anyone for the attack, but were following lines of inquiry, she said.

Meanwhile, there were no arrests at popular New Year's Eve festival Rhythm 'n' Vines in Gisborne, but 35 arrests in the Gisborne region.

Most people were well-behaved and the arrests were for intoxication and disorder, she said.

Police in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin did not report attending any major incidents over night.

About 75,000 people visited downtown Auckland throughout the night but police made few arrests, Inspector Peter Raynes said.

"For the majority, people behaved themselves. It was good to see people out celebrating, enjoying family time and getting into the festive season without going over the top," he said.

In Wellington there were 35 arrests, mainly for minor drunk and disorderly offences, Inspector Soni Malaulau said.

Wellington City Council New Year's Eve events, including a fireworks display at midnight, were cancelled due to the weather.

Police in Christchurch also reported no major incidents.

Drunken disorder was kept under control and police were kept steady, a police spokesman said.

In Dunedin, 10 people were arrested for minor disorders, Senior Sergeant Mel Aitken said.

This was even quieter than a normal Saturday night, she said.

Those who headed to popular holiday spots to see in the new year also stayed relatively quiet, as rain continued to pour down on many of the centres.

Bay of Plenty police reported a much quieter New Year's Eve than usual, with police being kept busy by weather-related issues.

New Year's Eve events planned for Mount Maunganui were cancelled due to the weather, while events at Rotorua and Taupo were moved inside.

"With the cancellation of, and changes to, many of our key events it meant we had the flexibility to deploy staff in different areas, and to respond to weather-related issues that developed, particularly on the roads," Superintendent Glenn Dunbier said.

There were 35 arrests in Mount Maunganui, 24 in Rotorua and six in Taupo.

Whangamata police were kept busy throughout the night, but did not have the same issues as last year where young women repeatedly got into trouble.

"Though we did have a number of young women arrested overnight I'm happy to report we did not see the same issues as last year and it appears to have been 16 to 18-year-old males getting into trouble," Inspector John Kelly said.

In Whitianga police were pleased with the behaviour of most people.

The main problem was the number of people entering the town before events such as Coromandel Gold.

In Nelson, which has been battered by bad weather for the past two weeks, police said they were particularly concerned with the number of people driving drunk.

"Nineteen people gave positive breath tests as at 5am this morning which is very high," Inspector Ross Lienert said.

However, police were pleased with the general behaviour of people in the Nelson region.

"There were only 29 arrests mainly for disorder and alcohol related offences and another 25 warnings which is pretty good."