It's a tradition more important than Christmas and New Year. Without fail for the past eight years a group of mates who met at school have travelled from around Australia and in some cases the world to have a few beers on the roof of Madison Crane's place at Cooks Hill on January 26.
Sporting their finest budgie smugglers, the group of 12 spent the afternoon trading yarns and giving traditional Aussie salutes to cars on Memorial Drive that honked their passing approval at the rooftop party.
"We basically drop everything to be here," Matthew Reed, 24, said.
"It's about reuniting as friends and celebrating what Australia and, in particular, Newcastle has to offer."
Theirs was just one of dozens of celebrations around the region that morphed into Australia Day-Sunday afternoon get-togethers.
Newcastle's festivities got underway on Newcastle Harbour with the annual harbour swims.
A picture perfect harbour resulted in a late influx competitors at Stockton, causing the 700 and 1400 metre events to be delayed.
"We had over 680 people in both events, which is about 250 more than we expected," event organiser Callan Nickerson said.
The annual swim, which has been running since 1995, is the only time it is legal to swim across the harbour.
It is also Australia's richest ocean swim with a cash prize of $3500 split across male and female podium finishers.
Jake Stephens, a late entrant, took out the 700 metre event while Daniel Collins took out the 1400 metre event.
Nearby at Fort Scratchley, hundreds of people turned out to witness the fort's original 80-pound gun being fired for the first time in a century.
The gun cost more than $120,000 and required more than 250,000 hours to restore.
To the delight of adults but the horror of some toddlers, the historic weapon and the fort's other big guns went off like clockwork at 11am, 1pm and 3pm.
By mid-afternoon thousands had flocked to the city's beaches before a blustery change swept along the coast.
Australia Day celebrations in Maitland got underway with a Lions Club breakfast before the traditional mid-morning civic celebrations . The annual thong throwing competition proved a hit with young and old as did the aquatic centre.
It was a similar story across Port Stephens where the victims of the summer's bushfires were remembered.
