And the rough waters are expected to continue until Saturday as the low-pressure cell battering south-east Queensland works its way south.

Lighthouse Beach at Port Macquarie was closed on New Year’s Eve, along with its southern sisters Bonny Hills and North Haven as 4m swells pummelled the shores.

Port Macquarie-Hastings Council’s lifeguard supervisor Larry Brook said attempts were made to open Lighthouse Beach but conditions were too dangerous.

“The big, long, open beaches get a tremendous sweep when they are hit with big swells,” he said.

“We had a few ‘almost rescues’ that just managed to make it look bad enough to close.”

Lifeguards rescued three boardriders at Town Beach yesterday after they got into difficulties.

One had to be helped into the river mouth, while the others were advised to take the same course rather than try to battle the currents.

“Most of the locals know that once they get stuck to turn into the river, but the visitors try to paddle against it,” Mr Brook said.

“They took on a bit more than they could handle.”

Lifeguards also treated a 15-year-old boy for a suspected broken leg yesterday after a skim-boarding accident.

“It was his first half-hour use of his Christmas present and he ended up going to hospital,” Mr Brook said.

A Coffs Harbour-based Bureau of Meteorology weather observer, Greg Crow, predicted the swell would fall to 3m today.

He said south-east winds from the middle of the Pacific Ocean – combined with the low-pressure system off Queensland joining forces with a high-pressure system near New Zealand – were causing the large swell .

Air moving clockwise from the low collided with wind travelling in an anti-clockwise direction to push large waves onto the Port Macquarie coast.

Beaches from Sydney to the Queensland border were closed on New Year’s Eve due to the dangerous conditions.

Mr Brook urged people to swim in areas marked with red-and-yellow patrol flags.

“With six beaches open in the council area, there’s no excuse for not swimming at a patrolled beach,” he said.