While riding her motorcycle near the Royal National Park on September 21, Emma Regan crashed into a car, fracturing her knee, wrist and pelvis.

Emma feared she had spinal damage, but was comforted by an unidentified good Samaritan until paramedics arrived. "He gave me his jacket and kept me calm, because I was really freaking out," she said. Read the full story here.

Debra Tropea and her son Cruz, from Towradgi, were stuck in a traffic jam after an accident at Bulli Tops in November when Cruz became seriously dehydrated.

With no water in the car and little shade, Ms Tropea was helped by a truck driver who offered the boy a cool drink, some fruit, and a lie down in his truck bed. Read the full story here.

The Port Kembla Copper stack spent its final hours firmly in the limelight; a beacon for photographers, the sentimental and people who like to see things – especially big things – explode.

At 11.15.16 am, it happened. There were hoots and cheers and cries to God. Many others watched it in silence, the unchallenged doyenne of the Illawarra skyline, breathtakingly unseated. Read the full story here.

The stigma of mental illness can make it hard to speak out – especially if you’re a first-grade footballer.

But this year – three years after his diagnosis with bipolar II disorder – Dragons forward Dan Hunt decided to talk publicly about his experience to help others facing similar battles. Read the full story here.

After all those years of planning and hammering and closed streets and dust, Wollongong turned out in force in October to see what its patience – and $200 million of investment – had yielded.

‘‘I love the design elements – it’s really interesting visually. I just feel like I’m somewhere else now, not Wollongong,’’ resident Penny Fisher said. Read the full story here. 

The "I'll Ride With You" movement took over social media in December, a show of solidarity for Muslims who feared retribution in the wake of the Sydney cafe siege.

A team of water safety educators at Sandon Point hoped its "I'll Surf With You" tagline picked up as much steam. Read the full story here.

The organiser of a nightclub event for people with a disability was ‘‘overwhelmed’’ by the success of the launch party in August, with more than 150 people turning up to the first Ables club night, held at The Grand Hotel in August. 

‘‘There’s nothing like this in Wollongong and people just loved it – the response we’ve received since the event has been overwhelmingly positive,’’ Beau Thatcher said. Read the full story here.

A Barnardos holiday house in Shellharbour was given a much-needed makeover by contestants of popular reality TV show House Rules.

The reno - revealed on Channel Seven in July - was praised by the show's judges while Barnardos workers and families awarded it a perfect 10 out of 10. Read the full story here.

Mr Davies, of Three Chimneys cafe and bar in Wollongong, ran a fund-raiser to benefit the homeless in July.

Coffees went up in price by 50¢ for July, with the cafe matching each purchase with 50¢ of their own, for a total of $1 from each drink purchase to aid food programs in the region. Read the full story here.

Illawarra couple Matt Byrne and Tara Dingle had initially planned to get married two years ago, but just weeks before the big day the groom was diagnosed with stage four Hodgkin lymphoma.

The couple had almost given up on their dream when they were told they would not have to pay a cent thanks to the generosity of local businesses. Read the full story here.

A brazen gang of vandals stopped a train at Otford station in June so they could spraypaint a mural on the side of one of the carriages.

At 12.39am a CityRail train from Sydney stopped at Otford station and, while it was waiting at the platform someone placed a milk crate and a piece of timber on the tracks so the train could not move. Read the full story here.

One of the Illawarra's most longstanding landmarks is no more, with the demolition of the Oxford Tavern completed in August.

Plans for a $38-million mixed-use development were revealed in September 2013, prompting some residents to voice their concerns about increased traffic, extra garbage, a loss of sunlight and views, and affected property values due to construction noise. Read the full story here.

A Dapto mum who was not allowed to swim at Port Kembla Olympic Pool because she was wearing too much clothing for the lifeguard's liking lodged a complaint with Wollongong council in January, citing discrimination.

Body-conscious Katherine Pulo wore a rash vest and a stretchy, lightweight dress as she approached the pool with her two sons but was stopped by a council lifeguard. Read the full story here.

An Albion Park transgender teen was left disgusted by supermarket staff in September who laughed at him because he no longer resembled a licence photo taken before his gender transition.

Ben, who had been transitioning from female to male for 10 months, attempted to buy cigarettes from Woolworths at Figtree, only to be refused the sale because the cashier did not believe his story of being a transgender person. Read the full story here.

Wollongong City Council contracted the efficient-sounding Specialised Marine Services to fix the sea wall, the pool walls, the pathways and hand rails at Austinmer ocean pools.

However, after repeated embarrassing stuff-ups, they packed up their gear in November and filed for voluntary administration. But not, apparently, before receiving more than $500,000 from WCC. Read the full story here.

The Illawarra Live Steamers gathered for its monthly working bee in November, only for members to find two steam locomotives had been stolen from their shed.

President Greg Coleman said the stolen gear was worth at least $10,000 - a hefty amount to a group entirely staffed by volunteers. Read the full story here.

An Illawarra entrant on TV show The Voice, says she was exploited, left open to vicious cyber-bullying, then discarded “like a used tissue” after her performance aired in June.

Her picture was posted on The Voice’s Facebook page with the question “bomb or bombshell,” referencing a quote she made in a pre-performance interview. Read the full story here.

It was a day of high emotion as work on removing the iconic ‘‘bum tree’’ on Gerroa Road finally began in March.

There were protests, tears, anger, chanting and cheers of support for the protesters and loud honking of horns from passing motorists, as well as words of admonishment at demonstrators and anger directed at contractors undertaking the work. Read the full story here.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott's comments that Australia was "unsettled" before British "foreign investment" arrived in 1788 were out of step with a great number of Australians who recognised Aboriginal history, Illawarra Aboriginal leader Sharralyn Robinson said.

"It's very disturbing to think we've got a Prime Minister who isn't aware of what was here prior to invasion. This country was very settled. We had our laws in place, we had our Parliament houses, our opera houses, our hospitals, our homes," she said. Read the full story here.

June saw a police crackdown on hoons who treat the Royal National Park and roads of the northern Illawarra like a racetrack, with some dangerous drivers caught exceeding the speed limit by more than 45km/h.

Responding to community concerns, Wollongong Highway Patrol undertook a major high-visibility operation, charging scores of hoons who were found speeding, drifting and driving unroadworthy vehicles. Read the story here.