Police said the fight erupted at the Whitehorse Plaza shopping centre in Box Hill and involved nine men from two groups.

Do you know more about this? Email us with news and pictures or MMS 0406 THE AGE (+61 406 843 243).

Reports allege some combatants carried knives and used chairs to attack the second group, with the fight spilling on to Whitehorse Road and surrounding streets.

Paramedics were called but treated only one man, a 19-year-old who claimed he had not been injured but was vomiting.

He was taken to Maroondah Hospital in a stable condition.

One bystander suffered a cut to the head but did not need medical treatment.

About 5pm, police arrested nine men over the fight.

Six men, aged 18 to 23, from the eastern and south-eastern suburbs, were charged with affray.

The three other men were released without charge.

The six will appear in the Ringwood Magistrates Court at a later date.

Witness ‘‘Kelly’’ told Radio 3AW today ‘‘some very, very tall fellows were whistling and calling out’’ when another group responded to the noise.

‘‘Eventually it turned into a bit of a face off, a bit of a face off, and then it turned into a full-on brawl,’’ she said.

She said the two groups were from different cultural backgrounds and the fight went on for ‘‘10 to 15 minutes up and own the mall’’.