Two men surfing on Easter Sunday have died after being pulled unconscious from the ocean, in separate incidents in northern NSW.

The first drowning occurred at Killick Beach at Hat Head just after 4pm, where a man was retrieved from the surf in an unresponsive state.

Other surfers and beachgoers began CPR until police and paramedics arrived, however the 64-year-old was unable to be revived and died at the scene.

In an unrelated incident, a surfer was found unconscious in the water at the Illaroo campground at Minnie Water, east of Grafton, shortly before 5pm on Sunday.

Police attended along with NSW Ambulance paramedics and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter.

The 48-year-old male surfer was winched from the water to the beach, but was declared dead at the scene.

-AAP