The South Western Times’ top 12 photos from 2025

Balloons on the edge of space, elections down to the wire, and horses showing the camera their best side. In the past year, we’ve been out on the ground looking to capture some of the biggest moments from across the South West. And now, as we are well and truly into 2026, we wanted to take a moment to look back on our top 12 shots from 2025. 1. Fitting tribute The sight of two children stepping onto Hands Oval in June was a heart-warming and fitting tribute to one of Bunbury’s most loved North Melbourne superfans — Scott Hough. Mila and Liam Hough stepped on to the oval with North Melbourne players ahead of the history-making Bunbury clash in a tribute to their father, who died in 2023 after a three-year battle with motor neurone disease. 2. The final push While the final eight days leading up the the 2025 Federal Election were fraught with tension, harsh words and desperate bids to win the vote, there was still some time for levity while it looked to be truly anyone’s race. Four of the South West’s front runners got together on the Bunbury foreshore for the final push to earn votes and make their mark on the future of the Forrest electorate. 3. Sign of hope For the past 45 years, Vietnam veteran Alf Mainstone has stood outside Bunbury Centrepoint each November carrying a box of poppies. Selling them every year on Remembrance Day, Mr Mainstone helps others honour the fallen and those who served, setting up his stand-alone shop in the days before November 11. 4. Ball back in the court After years of rallying back and forth, what was a pile of rubble for almost two years is now the South West’s newest premier sport site. Gearing up to officially re-open early next month, the Brunswick Tennis Club will soon be back in full swing with their new courts completed and the local community and shire thrilled to have the ball back in their court. 5. Adam Hunter funeral In February, family, friends and former teammates — including West Coast royalty — gathered in Hunter’s home town Bunbury at his football home Hands Oval to remember the man who helped deliver the Eagles a premiership. His coffin was dressed by a West Coast and a South Bunbury flag and Hunter’s premiership coach John Worsfold spoke of a man who would have “lived the rest of his life with one arm” if it meant pushing through a serious shoulder injury to extend his AFL career. 6. Right at home Away from the high octane life of the racetracks, Ross Price can be found taking a quiet moment with one of his prize-winning horses at home. While presiding over one of the most successful stables in regional WA, Mr Price is right at home on his Capel farm. 7. Devoted fans In spite of the rain, young Matildas fans from across the South West braved the weather to watch their favourite soccer stars on the field. A crowd of 10,272 people in one of the State’s largest regional cities watched on with high spirits despite Panama seizing a 1-0 victory in the historic South West clash. 8. Honouring the Anzacs Brunswick Junction’s Anzac dawn service is always special, with the sun rising slowly over the South West town. While the South West saw enormous crowds attending events across the region, the spirit of the Anzacs was well and truly alive in Burnswick. 9. Lift off The town of Waroona entered the space race last year, with researchers from Curtin University’s Binar Space Program launching a high altitude balloon over the town, climbing 30km into the stratosphere. The balloon carried a payload called PyroMantis, named after fire, and the five cameras onboard climbing up for more than two hours capturing data about the jarrah forest below. 10. Relay big result Bunbury’s 2025 Relay for Life saw some tremendous success, with more than 500 people taking to Payne Park for a 24-hour relay to raise money for cancer research. The 23rd edition of the South West event managed to smash its $200,000 target before it even began and in the end, the 541 participants from 52 teams managed to raise $294,080 in total. 11. An artist’s abode After 16 years of being a beloved fixture on Margaret River’s main street, John Miller Design bid farewell to its iconic store but remains in his home Yallingup studio, an eclectic mixture of tools and trinkets. Owner and designer John Miller was enthusiastic about the future, but said it was bittersweet to move off the main street. 12. Auld lang skye What a way to enter 2025. Just one night after onlookers called in the New Year with fireworks displays across the country, the night sky was again lit up in an array of colours by the aurora australis.