A mum and her two young children have been rescued from an upturned boat on the Hokianga Harbour.
Coastguard say a family were dredging for scallops when their small boat capsized on the northern side of the harbour near Panguru at 6.10pm yesterday.
The father left his children aged 4 and 6 and his partner on the upturned hull while he swam 300m to shore to get help.
The mother and children were found by a rescue crew from Hokianga Coastguard who plucked them from their stricken vessel.
The trio, who were wearing lifejackets, were all suffering from mild hypothermia.