POLICE have charged a man with public nuisance following a disturbance at St Ives Shopping Centre in Goodna.

Several members of the public contacted police about 11.50am, complaining that a man carrying a young child had been king hit.

Police were told the instigator of the fight became irate when the victim - an unidentified Islander male - fought back, busting the alleged offender's lip open.

After entering a nearby butcher's shop to ask for assistance, the 23-year-old man allegedly picked up a side of beef and, according to witnesses, behaved "like a pork chop" when a person in the shop refused to call the police on his behalf.

Police said there were also reports the man was creating a disturbance by throwing things around outside the Woolworths supermarket.

The man was given a notice to appear in court on a public nuisance charge and was also issued with a move-on direction.

Neither of the men involved made an assault complaint.