Revellers across New Zealand welcomed in the New Year with enthusiasm, and police report a mainly quiet night with most arrests due to breaches of liquor bans or disorder.
Thousands of revellers in Auckland welcomed 2009 in style, against a backdrop of a spectacular fireworks display from the SkyCity tower in the centre of the city.
In Mt Maunganui, Tauranga and Papamoa, 235 people were arrested as party-goers ushered in 2009.
Tauranga Mayor Stuart Crosby said while any arrest is not good, the liquor ban was doing its job in creating a safe environment for about 30,000 people.
"My wife and I were on the main beach last night and it was very enjoyable, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves," he said.
More than 200 police staff worked through the night in the western Bay of Plenty.
In the most serious incident, a young man in Commons Ave in Tauranga was stabbed. Police say he has been released from hospital.
Elsewhere, police in Waihi, Taupo, Gisborne, Nelson and Queenstown say they had a relatively quiet night.
Police in Gisborne made 15 arrests though none were in relation to the Rhythm and Vines festival.
About 100 people were arrested in Auckland and Wellington.
In Napier, police had a busy night with arrests for disorder and breaching the liquor ban, but say it was nothing out of the ordinary.
South Island
About 10,000 people packed into Cathedral Square in Christchurch for the countdown to New Year.
Police say extra staff on duty in the city and in other main centres in the South Island were able to cope with the workload.
Only a handful of arrests were made in Dunedin.
Rain almost put a dampener on New Years celebrations in Queenstown and Wanaka, where numbers were down on previous years.
However the clouds cleared later in the evening and about 10,000 people, many of them overseas visitors, crowded the Queenstown waterfront.
Police made only 11 arrests in the party hot-spot for breaches of the liquor ban and disorderly behaviour.
Senior Sergeant John Foulkes said there are usually at least 30 arrests in the area at New Year celebrations
He said the mood of the crowds was good, and people seemed to be enjoying themselves.
