A 53-year-old man has drowned in a river on the NSW South Coast, taking the national summer toll to more than 40 since 1 December.

Emergency services were called to the Yowaka River at Nethercote near Eden about 3pm on Thursday.

The man had reportedly been struggling in rough water.

Police and ambulance paramedics attended the scene, but he was unable to be revived.

The number of summer drownings so far is more than at the same time last year, as Australians flock to waterways across the country.

This week, a 50-year-old woman died after being caught in a rip along with a child on the NSW north coast.

The woman was swimming with the young family member when they were swept out to sea on Tuesday evening at Park Beach in Coffs Harbour.

The child was brought safely to shore.

Surf Life Saving NSW chief executive Steven Pearce said the ripple effect both on the woman’s family as well as responders will be untold for many years to come.

It follows a particularly deadly Christmas and New Year period, which commonly sees more drownings than at any other time.

A four-year-old girl and six-year-old boy died after they were found unconscious in Perth’s Swan River near where revellers had gathered for New Year celebrations.

The children, from separate families, were spotted in the water at a popular family picnic spot and were unresponsive when members of the public pulled them from the river.

Two days after Christmas, a two-year-old girl died after being pulled unconscious from a backyard pool in northern NSW.