Police are investigating a large New Year's Eve party that had to be disbanded west of Lake Macquarie on Thursday night.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Tuggerah Lakes police were called to Olney State Forest near Martinsville about 6.30pm.
The Newcastle Herald understands officers found several hundred people at the site and told them to leave the area.
They spoke with the organiser - a 41-year-old woman - and requested her COVID-safe documents.
No-one has been charged and the investigation is ongoing, police said on Friday afternoon.
In an unrelated incident a few hours later, a marked police car carrying four people was involved in a two-vehicle collision at Brunker Road, Adamstown, at about 1.30am.
A Constable and Senior Constable were taken to John Hunter Hospital with bruising and arm injuries, but were soon released.
The two passengers in the police car did not need to be taken to hospital.
Police said in a statement the driver of the other vehicle - a 56-year-old woman - sustained "non-life threatening injuries" and underwent mandatory testing.
Newcastle police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash.
Police said the usual New Year's Eve types of call-outs - such as noise complaints - made up the majority of their workload on Thursday night and into Friday morning.
Lake Macquarie Acting Inspector Matt Lee said police were "reasonably happy" with how the night went.
"It's the best one we've had in a long time, largely due to COVID-19 [restrictions] and the weather," he said. "It was nothing like previous years."
Statewide, police made 219 arrests and charged 290 people for various offences. They also handed out seven $1000 fines to individuals and five $5000 penalty notices to businesses for alleged COVID-19 breaches. Police said most people across NSW celebrated responsibly.
"We saw sparse crowds in [Sydney], with only 5000 New Year's Eve passes scanned to enter the Green Zone," Assistant Commissioner Mick Willing said.
"That was mirrored on the harbour, with only 20 per cent vessel patronage compared to what we have seen in previous years.
"It was still disappointing to see some people being reckless and disregarding the rules, with police in the suburbs kept busy dispersing congregations, giving move-on directions and seizing illicit fireworks on multiple occasions.
"I would like to thank those members of the community who made their plans COVID-safe and celebrated the beginning of 2021 responsibly, in what we hope is a better year for everyone."
