Dunedin ready to shamrock and roll: thousands of St Patrick’s Day revellers expected

Friday, 14 March 2025

St Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17.

That day is named after Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, and who died on that date.

Celebrations include people wearing green attire, and in Dunedin it was on the biggest social events on the student calendar.

Dunedin has become a drawcard for students from other centres wanting to celebrate St Patrick’s Day.

In recent years, the March 17 festivities have become one of the largest events on the student calendar, attracting thousands of people and an ever increasing number of partygoers from outside of the city.

On Friday, University of Otago Vice Chancellor Grant Robertson sent an email to students, which said: “St Paddy’s Day has become a day of fun and celebration for students – but for some the day doesn’t end with the best of stories to share”.

He urged students to show up to lectures, labs and tutorials on St Patrick’s Day, just like the thousands of staff at the tertiary institution would be doing.

Those who intended to celebrate, were urged to be safe.

“Heights and alcohol do not mix – the only way to guarantee safety is to avoid getting on a roof altogether.”

“Every student who has fallen from a height thought they’d be fine – until they weren’t – and some are now living with life-altering injuries.

“Don’t let yourself become another statistic,” Robertson wrote.

In 2022, two people were seriously injured after falls, one from a roof and another from a balcony.

A recent report on the student year from the Proctor’s office noted recent gains made regarding student behaviour, safety and wellbeing.

That comes after Stuff reported that there were no couch fires lit during Orientation Week, a period which previously led to dozens of fire.

But the Proctor’s annual report noted large events, such as Flo Week (the week before Orientation Week), and St Patrick’s Day “continue to attract students from other New Zealand universities and non-students from around the country to the North Dunedin area”.

Those visitors to the Dunedin student quarter were not covered by the student conduct statute and “can occasionally behave unreasonably without consequence,” the report noted.

Last year’s St Patrick’s Day, which fell on a Sunday, was largely based around private events, which “have a foundation in binge drinking and bring with them disorder, risky behaviour such as climbing onto roof tops, dismal rubbish management, noise related issues and disorderly behaviour,” the report said.

The report noted the pastoral work which went into recent St Patrick’s Day festivities at Brackens Lookout. That included sorting and recycling rubbish.

“There are no easy solutions to this growing event, but we will continue to work with community partners seeking improvement.“

That comes as a spokesperson for the University of Otago spokesperson told Stuff: “We have been made aware that large numbers of students from other tertiary institutions are planning to travel to Dunedin for St Patrick’s Day celebrations”.

Senior Sergeant Anthony Bond said extra police were rostered to work on the day, which began early with some students indulging in “six before six” - a reference to drinking six alcohol beverages before 6am.

Those early risers later ventured out on flat crawls, where males and females went in a different direction before meeting up in the middle.

“It is not just one party, all day, it is a party at a flat for an hour before they move to another address,” Bond said.

Those who started early tended to be back home in bed by lunchtime, those who started around noon lasted until the evening, and those who studied during the day might party when they got home, and into the early hours.

To minimise broken glass as the large hordes of green clad party goers moved between flats, local liquor stores push cans over products sold in bottles “to reduce the amount of glass in the North Dunedin area”.

Large numbers often ended-up on Castle St, a hub for second-year students, while first year students tended to go to Bracken View.

Lots of factors could influence numbers on the day, and “a lot of it comes down to available funds,” Bond said.

But the day of the week, or weather were also factors.

In regards to the latter, Dunedin was forecast to have a high of 27 degrees with some showers expected

Bond said large student parties were encouraged to register on the Good Ones website, and that already included The Lake House, a large student flat near Logan Park which holds an annual St Patrick’s Day event.

While St Patrick’s Day had grown in popularity in recent years, it did not require the largest police response compared with Flo Week and Orientation Week, or the annual Hyde St Party, which attracts 4000 students in a condensed area.

An area of concern during St Patrick’s Day were revellers who went on roofs, Bond said.

“We go and talk with them, and get them down. Obviously there is a risk from drinking at height.”