Police believe the decision to have a large presence on the streets throughout the area on New Year's Eve proved to be a wise one.

"Overall police were quite pleased with the behaviour of revellers on New Year's Eve - there were a few incidents but on our end in the Lake Illawarra Command, it was one of the quieter New Year's Eves," Inspector Andrew Koutsoufis said.

"We had what was a pretty large contingent of police out and about on New Year's Eve and that proved to be a positive."

Inspector Koutsoufis said the the most serious incident was a glassing at the Kiama Inn Hotel at about 12.45am on New Year's Day.

A 25-year-old man allegedly struck a security guard in the back with a glass bottle after he was escorted from the premises.

The man was charged with reckless wounding, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, resisting arrest and assaulting police.

A 30-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman were also charged with resisting arrest and assaulting police.

Police from Lake Illawarra command carried out about 800 breathalyser tests as the region rang in the new year.

To catch up with photos from the Kiama New Year's Eve celebrations go to http://www.kiamaindependent.com.au/story/2000264/mega-gallery-kiama-celebrates-in-style/?cs=1460