Xanthe Stanley, 22, was at the Cow and Calf Hotel on May 20 this year when she attacked a woman she thought was pointing and laughing at her.

The woman had been in the beer garden for a friends 30^th birthday party when the incident unfolded at about 6pm.

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According to police the woman had called out to a friend to get her attention, when Stanley was seen staring intently at the woman.

The woman watched Stanley walk over to a man and begin talking to him, so went over to ask if everything was ok.

Stanley told the woman she thought she was laughing at her, to which the woman explained she was trying to get the attention of her friend who was behind her.

After returning to her table, a short time later Stanley got back up and walked toward the woman and threw an empty glass at her, which struck the left side of her head causing bleeding from behind her ear.

Stanley attempted to grab the glass out of the woman's hand unsuccessfully, before she grabbed a balloon weight from a table and swung it at her and missed.

Stanley began leaving the hotel saying to the woman "I'll see you outside".

Friends assisted the woman who was bleeding, while staff contacted police.

Officers attended Stanley's home and asked her about the allegations.

She told police she didn't remember throwing a glass, but did recall picking up the balloon weight and using it in an attempt to assault the woman. She said she knew she did this because she hit her friend with the weight when it missed.

Stanley explained she did this out of frustration and believed the woman was agitating her and her friend. She also explained when she said "I'll see you outside" she was directing this at her friends not the woman.

In Wellington Local Court on Tuesday Stanley pleaded guilty to one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Aboriginal Legal Service defence lawyer Katarina Duncan explained the incident occurred in the context of the victim pointing and laughing at Stanley.

Ms Duncan said her client was a person of prior good character with no criminal history, and asked the court to consider not imposing a conviction.

She argued while Stanley was currently a single stay-at-home mother, she had previously worked in the aged care industry and a conviction would impact future job prospects.

"Unfortunately she tells me she doesn't remember the glass incident, she does remember something happened," Ms Duncan told the court.

"She states to me that she regrets the incident and wishes it didn't happen.

"I say this is very out of character for my client. Her behaviour was influenced by a great degree of alcohol."

Magistrate Stephen Olischlager explained the maximum penalty for this offence was up to five years imprisonment.

He said while the injury the woman sustained was minor, the incident could have been "catastrophic".

"Alcohol fuelled violence in a hotel is something a court sees far too often, glassing's at hotels is something we see more regularly than we should," Magistrate Olischlager said.

"It has to be understood that type of violence can result in far catastrophic outcomes.

"I've certainly seen instances of glassing's that has required major surgeries ... or caused significant disfiguration."

Stanley was convicted and sentenced to a conditional release order to be of good behaviour for 12 months.