Ugly scenes at an out-of-control party in Melbourne have marred the record of otherwise well-behaved crowds who celebrated New Year's Eve in the city.
At least two police officers were assaulted and a mobile triage facility had to be set up to treat 20 of the 15,000 people who partied at Edinburgh Gardens in North Fitzroy on Tuesday night.
One of the officers was bitten on the shoulder and the other was punched in the face as they tried to make arrests.
Ambulance Victoria operations manager Paul Holman said paramedics were kept busy by people with self-inflicted injuries such as intoxication.
"Not one of the people that we saw at Edinburgh Gardens needed to be there," he said.
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"They were valuable ambulance resources that were tied up unnecessarily.
Deputy Commissioner Tim Cartwright said police were disappointed about the event, but said crowds were otherwise well behaved.
"By and large the crowd behaviour was much improved," he told reporters.
Mr Cartwright said a total of 23 people were arrested in the CBD, including 14 for public drunkenness.
"It's probably better than your average Saturday and Sunday night," he said.
Hundreds of staff were on hand in central Melbourne on Wednesday to clean up the mess after more than 550,000 people congregated in the CBD to see in 2014.
At the stroke of midnight, Melbourne's skyline was lit up from 22 locations across the city.
The 7.5 tonne fireworks display transformed the night sky into a rainbow of green, gold, blue, pink and red.
Flashing balls of light and fireworks that looked like falling stars delighted the crowds, especially the rapid-fire finale.
