Oamaru police yesterday said they dealt with numerous young people wandering around Otematata with alcohol on Sunday night.
The youngest, an 11-year-old, was found at midnight, albeit without alcohol.
Police made no arrests but took some teenagers home and made others tip out alcohol and go home.
Police could have detained them or issued them with infringement notices for having the alcohol.
The behaviour of young people at Otematata at Labour Weekend has come under fire from police, residents, the Ahuriri Community Board, and the Otematata Fire Brigade, which had to deal with the antics of drunken teenagers on Saturday and Sunday nights.
In contrast to Saturday night, when most of the trouble occurred at the Loch Laird campsite where about 130 young people aged between 15 and 25 were camped, problems occurred in the town on Sunday night.
"We dealt with numerous young people wandering around the town between 10pm and midnight, supplied with liquor by their parents," Sergeant Wayne Brew, of the Oamaru police, said.
"We felt we were babysitting everyone's kids.
"I'm appalled some parents will give their kids a large amount of alcohol then set them free on a community like this."
Sgt Brew estimated there were about 40 young people in different groups.
Most were aged under 17 and had come from a party.
They were from "decent families" staying in the town.
He said one group told police their mother had told them to "stay out and don't come back until about 1[am]".
"That's what we are dealing with," he said.
There were broken bottles on the road, street signs pulled out, graffiti and other vandalism.
The green fees box at the Otematata Golf Club was ripped off a wall and thrown across a green.
Police are investigating whether money was taken.
The public toilets were vandalised, with basins and seats smashed.
A 15-year-old Oamaru youth will be referred to youth aid.
Police decided they "weren't going to play babysitters" and left about midnight "after we got sick of dealing with other people's kids".
"It's not our job to look after their children," he said.
Police would discuss the situation with the community board, which was looking at options including temporary liquor bans and glass bans.
