Riots in Dunedin

Drunken and destructive student rampage shocks Dunedin

11:02AM Sunday August 26, 2007

Last night's student violence in Dunedin was far worse than last weekend's carnage.
Photo / Otago Daily Times

Dunedin's mayor has been talking about his shock and disappointment at last night's destructive rampage in the city's student area.

Fifty-two people will face the courts this week after drunken crowds set fire to cars, couches and mattresses.

Mayor Peter Chin has been taking a first-hand look at the mess in Castle Street. He says there are burned-out hulks of cars on the street and a lot of broken glass.

Peter Chin says he is hugely disappointed the Undie 500 event, from Christchurch to Dunedin, turned out the way it did. He says it is clearly not sustainable if this is the kind of outcome the city can expect.

Mr Chin says a lot of work had gone into building a rapport with students, and trying to ensure the event was run responsibly.

Peter Chin says he hopes those who go to court this week will not be able to get away with diversion. He says the people of Dunedin will not want to hear drunkenness being used as an excuse.

Embarrassed students plan to back any calls for a ban on future Undie 500 celebrations. It follows similar trouble on a smaller scale last year. Renee Heal of the Otago University Students Association expects there will be calls for an end to the event and she will not be disappointed.

She says the offending students are in the minority at the University and hopes better behaved students do not have their reputations tarnished.

Ambulance services say the situation was so intense they could not even get to the scene. St John says staff were forced to hold back until police had dealt with the rioting. A spokeswoman says two people needed treatment after an assault, although neither was taken to hospital.

Street cleaners have a massive job ahead of them. Some streets are a sea of smashed glass and burned furniture. Senior Sergeant Steve Aitken says the burning cars, couches and mattress and flying bottles resembled a war zone at times.

Meanwhile Dunedin firefighters were also targeted with bottles during the disorder, which lasted from around 6 o'clock last evening until around 3 o'clock this morning.

Dunedin Fire Station Officer Ian Anderson says he cannot recall such carnage occurring before. He says thousands of people were involved in the disorder.

Fire officers had to wait for riot police to clear the scene before they could douse fires. Mr Anderson says there has been some damage to fire engines as well after bottles were hurled at the engines and firefighters.

Canterbury University says it does not condone such behaviour. A spokesman says the University will not attempt to protect its students from the law.

- NEWSTALK ZB

***

Actually I was not all shocked. Same thing happened last year, same thing will happen again this year.

More than 70 car, rubbish, and couch fires were reported this year, and aren't we all glad hearing that those people will be judged at court. How I wish those drunkards involved will get banned from studying at any university in this country ever again.

I wasn't that sure of what Undie500 was except the fact that students from Christchurch travel down for a weekend with wildly renovated/decorated cars. Maybe some sort of competition involved?

I wikipedia-ed undie 500, and came out with this:

The Undie 500 is an annual car rally between Christchurch and Dunedin, New Zealand, held on the last Friday of the third term. Student members of the Engineering Society purchase used vehicles, spend weeks decorating themselves and their cars and drive the five hour journey south. The vehicles are individually themed and occupants pub crawl over the entire day of driving. The event is characterised by the high level of work performed on entrants cars transforming them from normal motor vehicles into something special.

Cars are understood to meet at least the following:

• Have a cost of under NZ$500 (hence the name Undie [under] 500)
• Stop at nominated pubs and bars on the drive south
• Have a current Warrant of Fitness and Vehicle Registration
• Be driven by a sober driver

The New Zealand Police accompany the convoy throughout the trip to ensure both the safety of participants and other road users.

Since 2003 the number of vehicles have been limited to 150 in number due to the pubs enroute being unable to handle the burgeoning number of patrons. The annual event continues to attract more than 1,000 participants and thousands of spectators. It is widely reported, attracting national TV news coverage, newspaper, radio and has even featured in Ralph magazine.

Before embarking for Dunedin prizes are awarded for outstanding entries. These include:

• Best Car
• Best Dressed Team
• Most Un-Politically Correct
• Best Overall

Prizes go some way to recovering the cost of the vehicle and keeping participants throat's wetted enroute.

I highly doubt they were sober driving those cars. They certainly need alcohol to do what normal people consider to be a total waste of time, energy, and dignity.

I wonder if these people will ever learn. Next year, I'll be looking out for the same old story.