Series
Behind the Photos
From strange scenes at an underworld kingpin’s funeral to a visceral portrait of a killer, these are The Age’s defining images of 2025.
- Behind the Photos
Months after that fateful day, Porepunkah remains a conspiracy-riddled mystery
Vision of heavily armed police combing Victoria’s High Country, following the murder of two officers, shocked Australia. But the scenes continue to this day as the whereabouts of Dezi Freeman remain a mystery.
- Grant McArthur
- Behind the Photos
How an awkward stay-at-home mum from rural Victoria gained global notoriety
For 10 weeks in 2025, the world tuned in to try to understand what motivated Erin Patterson to cook a poisoned family meal that would ultimately kill three of her four guests.
- Marta Pascual Juanola
- Behind the Photos
When desperate farmers prayed for rain in the midst of a hidden drought
The Green family survived a major drought on their sheep farm. I got a front-row seat to the challenges they overcame.
- Benjamin Preiss
The day bagpipers stormed Fed Square ... with a little help from AC/DC
They came to set a new world record. And with the help of Accadacca’s Long Way to the Top, the kilted musicians got there.
- Karl Quinn
How a late-night parliamentary vote fuelled by dim sims changed voluntary assisted dying laws
Despite being the first Australian state to legalise voluntary assisted dying, Victoria had a conservative scheme that left people like Glenn Mack suffering.
- Rachel Eddie
- Behind the Photos
As mourners gathered to remember an underworld kingpin, the coffin stood empty
After he was gunned down in a parking garage, it was Sam “The Punisher” Abdulrahim’s funeral – not his death – that became underworld lore in 2025.
- Chris Vedelago
- Behind the Photos
Ambushing a premier, leading marches: How neo-Nazis grabbed the spotlight in 2025
Experts say they have never seen Australia’s neo-Nazis as emboldened as they were in 2025. But under new crackdowns, they’ll have to fight to stay in the frame.
- Sherryn Groch
- Behind the Photos
Dutton, Hamer and the image that became an instant election meme
Covering the federal election in the blue-ribbon Liberal seat of Kooyong was always going to be exciting. But I could not have expected just how wild it became.
- Rachael Dexter
Other series
Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2026
This year’s laugh fest has kicked off, with more than 2000 performers stepping up to the mic. Here, our writers take a closer look
- 7 stories
Hate of origin: Inside football’s most intense rivalry
Essendon and Hawthorn have hated each other for more than 40 years, from some old-fashioned thuggery and a fake drug scandal in the mid-80s to last year’s failed bid by the Hawks to poach the Bombers’ captain.
- 5 stories