Police have released the name of a young man who drowned at Haruru in the Bay of Islands on Tuesday.
He was 19-year-old Campesi Gino Huch, a Samoan resident who had been staying with family in Auckland.
He had been swimming with family in the Waitangi River at Lily Pond when he disappeared under the water.
He was found some time later by family members and ambulance staff, and attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful, police said.
A three-day rahui was been placed on the spot by Ngati Rehia kaumatua Waimutu Te Whiu.
It was the first drowning in Northland this year. Five people drowned in the region last year.