At the end of a horrific week for Australia, many could be forgiven for thinking this year has been unrelentingly grim, with plane crashes, Ebola, wars and death.

But it has also been a year of joy, achievement and moments that brought us together.

Fairfax Media published thousands of stories this year. Here are some of the most heart-warming.

Finishing high school despite the odds

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Marnie Stevens-Denholm and Lucy Weston. Photo: Cole Bennets

Lucy Weston and Marnie Stevens-Denholm faced more challenges than most but triumphantly graduated from high school this year.

Just two of more than 75,000 year 12 students, the pair have Down syndrome. Throughout their 12th year at school, they did work placement, attended TAFE, practised grocery shopping, learnt to cook and expanded their social skills.

"Success at the end of school is not just about a number and it means something different for everyone," Jenny Fowler, the girls' principal at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College at Kensington, said. 

"Marnie and Lucy are leaving school happy, confident and equipped, which is a great achievement."

Cafe worker triumphs over racism

Nilson Dos Santos at Coco Cubana, where he has found full-time work. Photo: Nick Moir

When an inner-city cafe owner refused to hire a man because he was black, the public outcry was deafening.

Nilson Dos Santos had nine years' experience as a barista but was rebuffed from Forbes & Burton by its owner Steven He, who said his white customers "don't like to have black people making coffee for them".

Mr He was so deluged with complaints, including from his own staff, he had to shut down the cafe.

Mr Dos Santos went on to find full-time employment at Taylor Square bar and cafe Coco Cubano.

"I feel comfortable and [I'm] just really looking forward to a new beginning. I'm very positive about the future," he said.

Soldiers saving horses, saving soldiers

Veteran Max Streeter with Integrand. Photo: Peter Rae.

One of this year's most moving stories told of racehorses saved from the knackery through the Racing NSW Thoroughbred Retaining Program and former soldiers saved from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Under the program, stressed veterans help retrain thoroughbreds for life after elite racing.

"I can say that I am a horseman in training, which is better than being nothing - which is how I simply felt after I left the force," veteran Max Streeter said.

"I felt I was nothing, and thought I would be no one again.

"When you are working the horse, you are learning to control another animal, and at the same time you are getting control over yourself, something you lose through PTSD."

Love conquers all

In October, veteran ABC journalist Barrie Cassidy shared the story of the 60-year marriage of his parent, Bill and Myra.

He spoke of Bill's struggle to heal after becoming a prisoner of war during World War II, and how the couple reconnected and rebuilt their union.

"The long-separated couple didn't rush anything after Bill disembarked. They approached each other slowly, and their first embrace was tentative, uncertain, almost awkward. Bill picked up [daughter] Pam and hugged her to his chest. Then Myra and Bill exchanged a glance, and they could see it in each other's eyes - their feelings for one another were there on the surface, undiminished."

One of The Sydney Morning Herald's most popular weekly columns, Two of Us, shares the stories of enduing relationships.

The 50 or so pairs covered this year included novelist Kathy Lette and her son Julius and their experience with Julius' Asperger syndrome, and married couple Dave and Eden Riley whose love has triumphed over cancer and addiction.

The Rabbitohs finally win another premiership

George Burgess scores for the Rabbitohs. Photo: Brendan Esposito

One of Sydney's oldest and most loved rugby teams, the South Sydney Rabbitohs finally won a premiership after 43 years.

The team that brought thousands on to the street to protest against their exclusion from the NRL just years ago, sent their home base of Redfern into a deafening roar and all-night party when they beat the Canterbury Bulldogs in the final.

Rabbitoh's co-owner Russell Crowe described the breakthrough win as a "pretty good night".

"It's deep, deep satisfaction, but this is a team sport," Crowe said.

"It's a grand reward for everybody who stepped up to the plate and decided we weren't going to put up with South Sydney being a losing club any more."

Western Wanderers become Asian champions

The Western Sydney Wanderers on the victory podium. Photo: AFP

The Western Sydney Wanderers achieved the seemingly impossible when they became the first Australian champions of Asia.

A club that didn't even exist three years ago clinched the greatest result in Australian club football history by toppling Asia's "club of the century" Al-Hilal over two legs to win a historic champions league title. 

Somalia, three years on

Ladhan Waraq with other family members in Daadab. Photo: Edwina Pickles

In the past decade, extreme poverty halved across the world. In November, senior journalist Matt Wade returned to the Kenya-Somalia border, and met a woman who had turned her family's life around despite incredible hardship.

"In an article about Ladhan [Waraq] and baby Sahlan, published on the front page of the Herald in July 2011, I wrote that their story showed 'heartbreak and hope can come on the same day' amid that terrible hunger crisis.

"In the years since our meeting, I've often wondered how Ladhan and her daughter had fared. Had Sahlan survived? And what had become of them once the emergency had passed?"

Young mums and dads get the support they need

Many young people are plunged into chaos when they fall pregnant before graduating, but for those who can access the Young Parents Program in Wyong, it's a tiny bit less scary.

Launched in 2012 to support school-aged boys and girls who have had or are expecting a child, the centre offers education, as well as counselling and support with healthcare and life skills.

"Life events have taken them in a direction they weren't expecting. We're giving them a future and a vision, not just for themselves but for their children," program head Marjorie Lamrock said.

Surprise baby

Kim Walsh with her daughter Shelby. Photo: Louise Kennerley

Another heartwarming motherhood story was of a Sydney woman who gave birth, 2½ hours after discovering she was pregnant.

Everything appeared to have gone wrong but it didn't.

As the hospital's head of obstetrics said, he doesn't like to use the work miracle freely... but this was one.

Sydney unites after the Martin Place siege

The Sydney siege in Martin Place claimed the lives of three people, two hostages and the gunman, but it scared the whole country. But Sydneysiders united, laying tens of thousands of flowers in Martin Place.

Many were also swift to squash the idea that the gunman, Man Haron Monis, was in any way motivated by his religious beliefs.

The #illridewithyou hashtag was launched the day the siege ended, with thousands pledging their support for Muslim Australians.

Hope for stressed pets

Marco the Maltese terrier, pictured with owner Sandy Junior, has undergone treatment for his mental health problems. Photo: Edwina Pickles

It turns out humans aren't the only species that can struggle with mental issues with a new historic study revealing anxiety and depression are common in our pets also.

But careful support, therapy and, occasionally, medication can help change the lives of our furry friends.

"I don't think we've truly made peace with the idea that humans are just another kind of animal," US science historian Laurel Braitman said.

"I don't think we are the same as wombats or walruses, but I think we have more similarities than we tend to acknowledge."

And the life-saving impact of the pet ownership

Free veterinary clinic for the disadvantaged. Photo: Wolter Peeters

Senior journalist Peter Munro wrote a story about Sydney's homeless population, and the life-changing impact owning a pet can have.

He spoke to many proud pet owners, including Katy Brownless, 26, about her dog.

"She's not just a best friend. I feel empty sometimes when I'm not with Dot. She's my rock, really."

Beating breast cancer

Marina McDonald (right) with Lisa Wilkinson.

More than 15,000 people are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. When Marina McDonald learnt she had cancer, she chose to have a double mastectomy.

Her bold choice inspired Today Show host Lisa Wilkinson, who photographed Ms McDonald and turned her into an ambassador for regular checks and early action.

Glebe school beats indigenous education gap

Vice-principal Bryce Walker with students at Glebe Public School. Photo: Kate Geraghty.

Closing the education gap between indigenous and non-indigenous children is challenging, but one inner-city suburban school has succeeded.

Glebe Public School focused on attendance rates and building a strong community to level the paying field.

"We have really good strong relationships with the staff, the students and the community. We create an environment where kids want to come to school," principal Vicki Pogulis said.

Malala Yousafzai wins the Nobel peace prize 

Malala continues to campaign for girls to have greater and safer access to education.

"Education went from being a right to being a crime," Malala said about the arrival of the Taliban in her home town.

"Girls were stopped from going to school. I had two options - one was to remain silent and wait to be killed. And the second was to speak up and then be killed. I chose the second one. I decided to speak up," she said.

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