His mother was running a bath when Oscar, who has Autism, wandered out the back of the waterfront property on Fishing Point Road about 6.30pm. He found his way through a gate and down through a neighbour's yard to the water, a family member told the Newcastle Herald.

His mother ran to the street to look for him when she realised he was missing, before turning to the water where she found him lying face down and unconscious. Bystanders attempted to revive him before paramedics arrived but they were unsuccessful. The little boy's family who had gathered at the house for Christmas said they were in shock.

It was one of three tragic incidents on the water on Christmas Day, with the search for a swimmer missing at Bathurst resuming Sunday morning, and another at Albury.

In Bathurst a swimmer went missing in a dam about 1.30pm. He was with a group of people on a boat when he told his friends he was going to swim to shore, a distance of about 300m. A storm struck the area a short time later and the man's friends saw him disappear under the water. A search, involving officers from Chifley Police District, local Police Rescue, and multiple SES craft, was suspended at 7pm due to poor light and resumed early Sunday.

While in Albury, a teenager went missing while swimming at about 2.15pm in the Murray River. He was with several teenage boys at Noreuil Park when they all got into difficulties.

His mates were helped from the water but he could not be found, sparking a search which continued until 8.40pm, before it, too, was suspended due to poor light, and resumed at 8am on Sunday.

According to analysis of Royal Life Saving Australia data, the eight days from Christmas Day to New Year's Day are the deadliest period for drowning, with 201 lives lost over the past 15 years.

University of New South Wales lecturer and researcher Amy Peden said her analysis shows another spike on Australia Day, with a further 28 people drowning on Australia Day during the same 15 year period.

"My findings back up previous research, which found people are twice as likely to drown in Australia on a public holiday than any other day," she said.

The danger was not limited to major holidays, she said, with January 10 inexplicably emerging from her analysis as another key date, with 32 people drowning over the past 15 years - more than on any other single day of the year.

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