Four men have died after they drowned in separate incidents on Boxing Day, within hours of one another.
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The men were among thousands of holidaymakers who took to the water across NSW on Monday, as police warned people to remain vigilant when swimming during the festive season.
About 1.15pm, Ambulance crews were called to Wooli Beach, north of Coffs Harbour, after a 60-year-old man was pulled unconscious from the water.
Family members said Geoffrey Blackadder, a grandfather from Grafton, was on an outing with his family when two young relatives got caught in a rip.
The children were just 25 metres away from the flags on a patrolled beach, witnesses said, but the "loving brother" ran to their aid.
Surf lifesavers managed to rescue the young girls, however Mr Blackadder was unconscious when he was pulled from the water. He was given CPR but died at the scene.
Two hours after Mr Blackadder died, a man went missing after wading into a river in the Kangaroo Valley, north-west of Nowra.
Police were called to a picnic ground at Bendeela at 3.15pm, after a friend of the 27-year-old man said he was having trouble swimming.
A large-scale search of the area was launched, including volunteers from the State Emergency Service (SES) and two helicopters. Eventually, police divers found the man's body in the water about 6.15pm.
Divers recovered the body of another young man at the Nepean River in western Sydney on Tuesday morning.
The 25-year-old, from Punchbowl, was swimming with a group of friends at Greendale, in Bents Basin State Conservation Area, when he went missing at 3.30pm on Monday.
A park ranger helped with the search before police and SES volunteers were called. The search was suspended overnight, with the man's body found around 8.25am.
A 56-year-old man from Kensington in south-east Sydney was the final drowning victim on Monday, pulled unconscious and "unresponsive" from the surf at a beach on the south coast.
Paramedics rushed to Merry Beach in Kioloa at 6.25pm, but despite their best efforts the man could not be revived.
The deaths have made for a deadly 48 hours on the water across NSW, after a 27-year-old man drowned at the Royal National Park south of Sydney on Christmas Day.
Following the death of that man, believed to be from overseas, police said people should take care "around waterways, beaches and swimming pools during the festive season".
The circumstances of each death are being investigated, with police to prepare briefs for the Coroner.
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