Three fishermen returning from Byron Bay to Ballina were rescued when their boat capsized trying to cross the Ballina bar into the Richmond River on Sunday, emergency services said.

A swimmer reported missing on Saturday afternoon from the Ballina coastline managed to make it back to shore without help from emergency services at the ready.

Island and coastal communities, among others across the Northern Rivers, received evacuation directions over the weekend.

Ballina councillor Eoin Johnston and local legend Barry Saxby have a long history together, as Echonetdaily discovered when Barry's race-walking champion daughter Kerry Saxby-Junna was honoured in Ballina last week.

Shelly Beach Surf Club is now set to proceed with the final stage of the building’s restoration following a $98,000 grant from the NSW Government, funded by a contribution from the state’s registered clubs.

Scores of surfers from the NSW north coast and south east Queensland will gather tomorrow (Saturday) for a memorial service to honour Tadashi Nakahara, who died after being attacked on his board by a great white shark at Shelly Beach on Monday.

Updated 5.25pm: Police, SES, Surf Lifesavers and Ballina council officers today conducted a search for six kilometres either side of Shelly Beach but found no further information about yesterday's fatal attack or any further shark sitings.