Photos of the year - 2020
66 ImagesThe award winning Sydney Morning Herald photographers bring you the images and stories that have marked the year, from the bushfires that began this year, to COVID-19 to the Black Lives Matter movement. Thank you for supporting independent journalism, we wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and a peaceful 2021.
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A house in Mogo, a town on the NSW south coast has been devastated by bushfires.Credit:James Brickwood
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Albie Woodhouse plays The Last Post on trumpet for a driveway dawn service for ANZAC Day on Saturday, April 25, 2020. Households are commemorating ANZAC Day in their driveways due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Credit:Cole Bennetts
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Seventeen year old Sydney Boys High School student William Winter with his elderly grandmother at their George's Hall family home in Sydney's South West. Credit:James Alcock
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Talyna Smith is a nurse at St Vincent's Hospital emergency department's red zone. It's an area set aside to treat patients with COVID-19.Credit:Kate Geraghty
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Black Lives Matter protesters pause along with David Dungay’s nephew, Paul Silva, near Sydney Town Hall, watched by the media. Credit:James Brickwood
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Schoolies Mistie Mildenhall and Sav Smith from Ballina Coast High School celebrate finishing their school year in Byron Bay, NSW.Credit:Elise Derwin
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NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Minister for Transport and Roads Andrew Constance addresses the media about work starting on the Sydney Metro West mega project. Credit:Rhett Wyman
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The body of a Coronavirus COVID-19 casualty is delivered to a Sydney Funeral Director service, after being released from hospital.Credit:James Brickwood
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Empty shelves at Summer Hill IGA in March at the start of COVID-19.Credit:Steven Siewert
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Testing hours have been extended at the Bondi drive-thru until 7.00pm after increased demand. Credit:Brook Mitchell
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With temperatures surpassing 43 degrees, grey-headed flying foxes descend from the safety of the tree canopy to find a cooler place at Yarra Bend Golf Course. Credit:Douglas Gimesy
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Ambulance officers assess an elderly man with coughing and shortness of breath before transporting him to hospital. Credit:Nick Moir
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Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Chief Medical Officer Professor Brendan Murphy sanitize their hands before entering a National Cabinet meeting to discuss COVID-19 coronavirus in Canberra.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
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The Ruby Princess, with a crew of 1200 trapped on board, sits off the coast near Coogee. A later inquiry found that in allowing about 2650 passengers to disembark when the ship docked in Sydney in March, NSW health authorities made "serious mistakes". Despite suspected cases aboard, the passengers were not tested for the virus. The ship was ultimately linked to at least 900 infections and 28 deaths.Credit:Janie Barrett
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Firefighters from FBNSW run for safety as the Green Wattle Creek fire exploded from the bush in Orangeville filling the air with millions of embers. Credit:Nick Moir
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Shallow waters at Clovelly Beach.Credit:Brook Mitchell
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Brigette Leech and Matthew Selby are married at Sydney’s Garrison Church during the lockdown, when weddings were limited to 10 people. Well-wishers observe the nuptials at a distance, adding to the momentous occasion.Credit:Janie Barrett
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Cornelius Tobechukwu Azolibe with his family ahead of his Air Force Enlistment ceremony. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer
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Mercoria Farhoud and her friends leave to head to their school formal. Credit:Janie Barrett
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At the end of a long but peaceful day, a small group of protesters clash with police at Central Station. Credit:James Brickwood
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On June 6, 2020 at least 20,000 protesters defied pleas by the NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and police and marched through Sydney's CBD as part of the Black Lives Matter movement that has swept the world and reignited debate over the treatment of Indigenous Australians.Credit:James Brickwood
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Bondi Beach is closed in Sydney on the 21st of March 2020 due to overcrowding. Credit:Steven Siewert
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Karl Niehus unearths water dragon eggs from the ruins of his mother’s business in Mogo’s main street. It was destroyed by the fire that swept through the town.Credit:Kate Geraghty
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The extent of the devastation on the South Coast is revealed from the air on board a Defence Force Taipan helicopter.Credit:James Brickwood
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Volunteer Firefighter Anika Craney at the burnt out remains of her home in Verona on January 9, 2020. Credit:Kiran Ridley
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The general manager of Auburn Gallipoli mosque, Ergun Genel, prays in solitude on the first day of Ramadan due to restrictions brought about by COVID-19. Credit:Kate Geraghty
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A shelf cloud forms over Ben Buckler in Bondi.Credit:Wolter Peeters
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Jack de Belin arrives at Wollongong court facing five counts of aggravated sexual assault. Credit:Kate Geraghty
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Teacher Fatma Hafda completed her HSC in the period after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. As a Muslim, she experienced racism in Sydney during this time. Credit:Janie Barrett
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A wave rears up, ready to wash over kids who are chain-surfing at Bronte rock pool. Credit:Brook Mitchell
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Local cowboy Lewis Benedetti from Buchan with a young colt brumby that he roped after a short chase in the Nunniong high planes.Credit:Josh Robenstone
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A swimmer in Clovelly Beach.Credit:James Brickwood
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Premier Gladys Berejiklian, Minister for Health Brad Hazzard, NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant at the State Emergency Operations Centre, Olympic Park. Credit:Steven Siewert
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A positive COVID-19 male patient in his 50s in an ICU at St Vincent's hospital. Credit:Kate Geraghty
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Prime Minister Scott Morrison takes a tour at the AstraZeneca laboratories in Macquarie Park, on August 19, 2020 in Sydney, Australia. The Australian government has announced an agreement with the British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca to secure at least 25 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine if it passes clinical trials. Credit:Nick Moir
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Passengers disembark from the Ruby Princess cruise ship at the Overseas Passenger Terminal in Circular Quay, on the 19th of March, 2020. Credit:Kate Geraghty
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Gospers Mountain Fire overran Colo Heights and was classified as an emergency zone. Scenes were from Wheelbarrow Rd and Putty Road.Credit:Dean Sewell
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Dayle celebrates her 10th birthday with siblings Quinne, 8, and Wrenne Hunt, 6, at their home during lockdown in Sydney.Credit:Steven Siewert
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As the bush regenerates, locals dive back into a favourite waterhole following the devastation of the volatile and swift moving Gospers Mountain Fire, which claimed more than 24 homes in Dargan and Clarence. Credit:Dean Sewell
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Mia Lee, 5, rides her pony on her family's property at Schofields. More than 1000 apartments are going up in the paddock next door, plus a Woolworths, and across the road is the new Schofields Station.Credit:Jessica Hromas
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Maleeha Naved at her school formal in Sydney.Credit:Janie Barrett
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Gladys Berejiklian says she is living a "personal nightmare" since discovering the alleged misconduct of her former partner Daryl Maguire. Credit:Jessica Hromas
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Daryl Maguire enters ICAC ahead of another day of questioning. Credit:Nick Moir
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Waterloo social housing estate resident walk along Cooper Street followed by a flock of pigeons, he recalls that 'these birds are my friends'. Credit:Louise Kennerley
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Stolen generations survivor Elly Chatfield.Credit:Rhett Wyman
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The Ellinghausen sisters adjust to COVID-19 restrictions. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
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Businesses were impacted during Covid-19 lockdown in Sydney.Credit:James Brickwood
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NSW Minister for Planning Rob Stokes, NSW Treasurer Dom Perrottet and Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne take a tour of the White Bay Power Station in Rozelle. Credit:Louie Douvis
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Father Greg Morgan preaches during a live service of up to 10 people at St Charles Church, Ryde.Credit:Jacky Ghossein
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Year 12 student Ring Kondok, 17, felt unmotivated to study. "Socialising is one of the ways to reduce the stress and anxiety, but with all of the restrictions it's been hard to do that," he said. Credit:Louise Kennerley
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Muscle-bound at Bondi beach.Credit:Steven Siewert
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Looking down George Street during the pandemic, mist hanging over the CBD and Queen Victoria Building emphasises the deserted scene.Credit:Louise Kennerley
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Social distancing becomes part of our lives.Credit:Dominic Lorrimer
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Swimmers at Bondi Beach adhere to social distancing recommendations.Credit:Janie Barrett
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Sisters Grace and Florence comfort each other as they adjust to living with COVID-19 restrictions.Credit:Jacky Ghossein
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Former Sydney Swans AFL player Adam Goodes.Credit:James Brickwood
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Student protest at the University of Sydney over funding cuts. Credit:Rhett Wyman
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A former foster child, Vanessa Roberts is a passionate advocate for Indigenous rights - as an activist and a budding lawyer. Credit:Rhett Wyman
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Vast lines of storms from central QLD to Victoria swept eastwards bringing hail, strong winds and flash flooding. Credit:Nick Moir
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Climate activist Daisy Jeffrey is one of the organisers of the School Strike 4 Climate. She doesn’t want adults to put their hope in young people, she wants everyone to take responsibility and take action. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer
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More employees are returning back to offices as COVID-19 restrictions ease.Credit:Louise Kennerley
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The Australian Museum's new dinosaur exhibition opens in Sydney.Credit:Louie Douvis
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Kamilaroi elder Polly Cutmore on the site that is believed to be where the Waterloo Creek massacre occurred. Credit:Rhett Wyman
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Dog Lovers Show at Sydney Olympic Park : sheep dog speed trials.Credit:Jacky Ghossein
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Chanel Miller has spent the last five years coming to terms with her alter ego. For most of that time, she’s been known to the world only as Emily Doe. She was even named Glamour’s Woman of the Year under the pseudonym, an identity the literature major and California native started to use after being sexually assaulted on Stanford University campus, outside San Francisco.Credit:Dean Sewell
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The Sydney Harbour at dusk. Credit:James Brickwood