While journalists craft the words, it is the photographers who often capture the soul of a story. As 2025 draws to a close, the Illawarra Mercury's visual storytellers – Adam McLean, Anna Warr, and Robert Peet – look back through their lenses to share the moments that defined a dramatic year for the region.
Capturing Light in the Gloom
For photographer Anna Warr, the assignment to cover yet another severe weather event in August 2025 promised more scenes of flood and despair. However, amidst the torrential rain, she discovered a scene of pure, muddy joy at Bulli Park.
"Instead of a sodden soccer field, I found some young men mud-surfing on boogie boards," Warr recalls. The image of Wade Bissett and Cody Hennessy laughing as they slid through the mud became a testament to the Illawarra spirit – finding lighthearted fun despite the relentless downpour.
Earlier in the year, on Thursday, May 1, a fleeting moment of beauty appeared over the Wollongong CBD. Spotting a full rainbow from her office window, Warr raced to the roof. "Luckily, it hit full brightness just as I got there," she said, capturing a stunning dusk scene that contrasted sharply with the often harsh narratives of climate events.
A Championship Season and Community Heart
The Illawarra Hawks' historic 2024-2025 NBL championship victory provided some of the year's most electrifying frames. Anna Warr's powerful shot of coach Justin Tatum rallying his team during the tense grand final series went on to win first prize in sports photography at ACM's annual editorial awards.
Robert Peet, with 31 years of experience at the Mercury, had the privilege of covering the Hawks' first championship in 2001. Capturing their 2025 triumph felt like a full-circle moment. "To capture a similar image in 2025 was a privilege," Peet noted, his photo freezing the instant of pure elation as veteran player Todd Blanchfield – after a 16-year quest – finally celebrated a title.
Beyond the stadium, Peet turned his lens to quieter, profound stories of community. He photographed Shoshana Dreyfus, the driving force behind the All Eyes All Abilities playground at Stuart Park, a project inspired by her non-verbal son, Bodhi. The playground later won the Community Champion People's Choice award.
He also met Vanessa Goodier at Woonona Rock Pool, who shared her story of grief and fundraising for the Cancer Council after losing her husband, Greg, to lung cancer.
A Year of Challenge and Ceremony
For Adam McLean, the year presented a diverse array of technical and emotional challenges. The South Coast Public School Dance Festival in June required capturing the fluid energy of young dancers under shifting stage lights. Meanwhile, the emotional final night at the Dapto Dogs on September 11 saw fans scooping up track sand as keepsakes, and a family scattering a loved one's ashes on the hallowed ground.
McLean also documented significant public events, including the first government-led pill testing trial at the Yours & Owls Festival in March, and a hyper-realistic multi-agency bus crash training exercise at the Fire and Rescue NSW Albion Park Training Centre in June.
A personal highlight was being invited to document the communal Iftar meal at Omar Mosque during Ramadan on March 24. "Sharing that meal at sunset was a poignant moment of cultural observance and unity that I won't soon forget," McLean said.
The year's sporting calendar culminated with the World Triathlon Championship Final 2025 in Wollongong, where McLean captured Australian winner Matthew Hauser celebrating in peak Aussie fashion – with a champagne 'shoey'.
From the euphoria of victory to the resilience in adversity, these curated images offer a powerful, visual diary of the Illawarra's 2025 – a year framed not just by events, but by the human moments in between.
