Fine weather ensured Illawarra beaches and parklands were the place to be on Australia Day. With a lack of council-organised Australia Day activities, numbers were a little low but nevertheless thousands of people could be seen enjoying themselves along the region's beaches. Wollongong's Blue Mile precinct was especially busy on Wednesday, starting with the annual Wollongong Aquathon. See the video below. The popular event attracted hundreds of competitors and just as many spectators. The warm weather ensured many stayed back or headed to nearby beaches. Read more: Can our Australia Day conversation last more than 24 hours? While there weren't too many serious incidents Australia Day was a busy day for those patrolling Illawarra beaches. Anthony Turner from Surf Life Saving Illawarra said there had been a number of rescues on the region's beaches but could not provide the exact figure as he didn't have all the data at time of print. He did however say the most significant incident occurred on MM Beach at Port Kembla. Four ambulance crews and a helicopter were called to the beach on Wednesday afternoon after reports of swimmers in distress. Four swimmers were attended to by crews on site with one in significant distress after being swept out by a rip. Two were transported to Wollongong Hospital, but have since been released. "It has been an extremely busy day. There has been hundreds and hundreds of preventative actions by lifesavers. There has been a common occurrence with the rescues occuring outside the flag areas and unpatrolled locations," Mr Turner said. The Illawarra Mercury newsroom is funded by our readers. You can subscribe to support our journalism here. Sign up for breaking news emails below ...