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15 of the Sydney Morning Herald's most powerful photos from the last 195 years

Maddison Skipper
Maddison Skipper

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Today, the Sydney Morning Herald marks 195 years of publication and we're looking back on some of the most powerful and poignant images it has published in nearly two centuries.

These 15 pictures were selected by the Herald's chief photographer, Kate Geraghty.

A Walkley Award-winning photo-journalist, Geraghty was also the first female Herald photographer to cover armed conflict.

These are, in her opinion, just some of the most significant images the publication has run in the last 195 years.

Attribution: Fairfax/Nick Moir/Kate Geraghty
The Great Battleship Fleet arrives in Sydney
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The Great Battleship Fleet arrives in Sydney

The first photo ever published in the Herald was this striking image of the Great Battleship Fleet turning into Sydney Harbour.

Founded in 1831, the Herald is oldest continuously published newspaper in the country.

Attribution: SMH
Inside the sheep-shearing shed, date unknown
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Inside the sheep-shearing shed, date unknown

This striking photo inside a sheep-shearing shed was captured by George Bell, the first staff photographer ever employed by the SMH.

He worked for Fairfax for nearly 30 years, until his death in 1925.

This image was scanned from a glass plate negative that dates back more than a century.

Attribution: George Bell/SMH
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Crowds farewelling troops bound for Gallipoli, 1915
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Crowds farewelling troops bound for Gallipoli, 1915

This poignant image shows the friends and families of Australian troops waving goodbye as their sons, husbands, brothers and fathers sailed for Gallipoli in World War I.

It's likely that many of the men in this photo did not come home.

Attribution: Fairfax Media/Digitised by NLA
Victory in the Pacific day, 1945
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Victory in the Pacific day, 1945

Thirty years later, this photo was taken of Frank McAlary twirling along Elizabeth Street in Sydney as he celebrated Japan's surrender on August 15, 1945.

Known as Victory in the Pacific Day, it marked the beginning of the end of World War II.

Attribution: SMH
Norm Provan and Arthur Summons at the SCG, 1963
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Norm Provan and Arthur Summons at the SCG, 1963

It was a muddy, brutal clash when the St George Dragons and Wests' Sydney Tigers went head to head in the 1963 grand final at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

The Dragons claimed victory under captain Norm Provan, who embraced Wests' captain Arthur Summons after the match in this poignant shot.

Attribution: John O'Gready
Australian troops in Vietnam, 1965
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Australian troops in Vietnam, 1965

Details about this striking image of Australian troops in Vietnam in June, 1965, are limited but the power of this photo cannot be understated.

Nearly 60,000 Australian military personnel served in Vietnam between 1962 and 1972.

Attribution: Stuart MacGladrie/SMH
Munich Olympic hostage situation, 1972
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Munich Olympic hostage situation, 1972

During the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, eight Palestinian terrorists infiltrated the Olympic Village in what came to be known as the Munich Massacre.

They initially killed two members of the Israeli Olympic team and took nine others hostage. They were later killed as well.

This photo of one of the terrorists became one of the most reproduced – and harrowing – images from the attack.

Attribution: Russell McPhedran
The aftermath of Cyclone Tracy, 1974
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The aftermath of Cyclone Tracy, 1974

Tropical Cyclone Tracy tore through Darwin in December, 1974, but these locals seemed in good spirits as they hung laundry in a fallen tree in the aftermath.

The small but damaging cyclone was initially projected to bypass Darwin but turned towards the city on Christmas Eve, leaving death and destruction in its path.

More than 60 people were killed.

Attribution: Rick Stevens
Xanana Gusmao is held aloft by crowds, 2001
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Xanana Gusmao is held aloft by crowds, 2001

Once a rebel, José Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmão became the first president of an independent East Timor in 2002 after years of Indonesian occupation.

This photo was taken as he was welcomed to the village of Malelat in Occusi in 2001, less than a year before he was elected.

Attribution: Andrew Meares
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