A baby whale as swum off to the deep blue sea after being freed from netting on Australia's eastern coast late Tuesday evening.

Authorities were alerted to distressed marine mammal earlier in the day,however rescue efforts were hampered by the calf's protective mother.

"While the conditions were good, agitated whales always make for a dangerous operation and the team have to ensure safety is paramount," National Parks and Wildlife Service operations coordinator Ian Kerr told local reporters on Wednesday.

Crews managed to free the calf over several hours using hook shaped knives on long poles to cut the netting away, allowing the calf to re-join its mother and swim south into the sunset.

Whales have slowly begun their migration back to the southern ocean after seeking warmer water during the southern hemisphere's winter.

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