Beaches abuzz on New Year's Day, but is it all a 'charade'?

It belonged to the Burgess family who, like many Newcastle residents, woke early to welcome in a new year.

Flynn, who is 10, stayed up to watch the 9pm Sydney fireworks on TV. His eight-year-old sister Marley was already in bed. Instead, she woke ready to play at Nobbys foreshore, racing Flynn to reach the strings of the kite flown by their mother, Ainslie.

"Our [New Year's Day] is always different," Ms Burgess said. "It just depends. We don't generally have a big New Year's [Eve]. We just went to dinner."

Many residents seemed determined to enjoy the new year fresh-faced and well-rested on the unseasonably cold January morning.

"I think Newcastle has been a bit 'early to bed, early to rise' on New Year's Eve for a while now," a 62-year-old grandfather of Hamilton said. "The atmosphere has changed from what it used to be."

The energy across the coast seemed to support this theory.

"I went to bed at 10pm. That was lovely," Dubbo resident Phoebe Horrell said as she drank a morning coffee at Newcastle beach.

When asked if she usually goes out on New Year's Eve, Ms Horrell said: "It just depends what's on. If something is on, I'll go to that. If it's not, I'm not going to make something happen."

Others were doing well at concealing evidence of a big night, hoping the salt air would work magic.

"Mate, it's actually a bit of a charade," one man said when asked about his spritely appearance.

He pointed to a friend whose head was hanging surreptitiously over the tray of a Toyota Hilux. The pair were among hundreds of Novocastrians who queued at the Queens Wharf Hotel on New Year's Eve.

"Yea. We're a bit dusty. You could say that." A surf, he reckoned, would "cure" him.

Emily Coggan, of Newcastle, usually rings in the new year on a festive camping trip with family, but she remained in town last night.

"We [normally] see the new year in with fireworks and go to bed straight after. This year was spent in Newy with some friends out on the town," she said.

Like many, Ms Coggan found the city a bustling place in the final hours of 2023. Thousand braved hours-long wait times to enter venues like Queens Wharf Hotel and King Street.

"We went home at about 12:30am," Addisan McCormack, 23, said. "It was so packed, it was just ridiculous."

Originally planning to attend a New Year's Day pub event, Ms McCormack had opted for a "recuperation" day, including an ocean dip.

Nobbys and Newcastle beaches were abuzz despite a brisk 20 degrees and northeasterly winds of up to 30 km/h. The Kiosk, Beachlife at Newcastle SLSC and several cafes in East End had long lines to order - largely made up of families and young couples.

"The [water] was fresh, it was nice," Ms Horrell said of her swim. "There's not a lot else you can do on a public holiday."

Up the street, East End Ice Creamery fulfilled their 'open everyday but Christmas' motto.

"Last New Year's Day was one of our busiest days ever," a staff member said. "Today is a lot quieter - but it's quite cold outside."

The cold had not stopped Charlestown parents Thomas Klotz and Alison Gero from bringing their boys out for a sweet treat.

Ben, aged four, had opted for classic rainbow in a cup while his older brother Lucas, 8, tried a novelty flavour.

[We] went to bed," Ms Gero said. "Ben needs to go to sleep at 7pm or he turns into a pumpkin."