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With just days to go until it's all over, Victorians are taking stock of the year that was.
And there's much to consider, with the past 12 months punctuated by extremes.
Tributes flow for Sisto
It culminated in a terrorist attack in the heart of Melbourne, and the murder of the guardian of one of Melbourne's most well-loved institutions, Pellegrini's Espresso Bar.
The larger-than-life Sisto Malaspina, who was known for his generosity and warmth, was killed as he approached terrorist Hassan Khalif Shire Ali, who had crashed a car loaded with gas bottles in Bourke Street.
Shire Ali stabbed Mr Malaspina in the chest, along with two others, before being shot by police and later dying in hospital.
For the many Melburnians who had been welcomed into Pellegrini's by Mr Malaspina, the incident represented an attack on their very way of life.
Hundreds mourned the death of the Italian-born restaurateur, who had been one of many European migrants who pioneered the city's iconic coffee culture.
The event also highlighted the complexity of the human condition, as the community sought to salvage a good deed from the most evil of acts.
Michael Rogers, a homeless person who was dubbed "trolley man", became a cult figure after vision showed him using a shopping trolley to try to prevent Shire Ali from continuing his deadly rampage.
Since the incident, he has been charged with burglary offences and theft.
Melbourne mourns Eurydice Dixon
Victorians were deeply shaken by the death of aspiring comedian Eurydice Dixon.
Ms Dixon was walking home after a comedy gig in the early hours of the morning when she was attacked by 19-year-old Jaymes Todd.
He has since pleaded guilty to Ms Dixon's rape and murder.
But the grief that Victorians felt quickly turned to anger and sparked a national debate about violence against women.
Thousands gathered in Melbourne and around the country to hold vigils in Ms Dixon's memory.
Parents brought young daughters and sons to the vigil and told the ABC they wanted to educate them, in the hope of creating change for the next generation.
Labor wins second term in landslide victory
A tough-on-crime Coalition and an infrastructure-blitzing Labor faced off in a November poll, and Victorians overwhelmingly backed the return of a Labor Government, with formerly safe conservative seats in Melbourne's inner-east going red.
The debate around youth crime — particularly in Melbourne's outer suburbs — became a major campaign issue for Matthew Guy's Coalition, with the Liberal Party promising to "stop gangs hunting in packs".
It was an issue that dogged Labor as it sought to win another four years in power.
Both parties offered record spending commitments in their efforts to woo voters, with Labor pledging to borrow $25.6 billion to pay for its big infrastructure projects.
In claiming victory, Premier Daniel Andrews declared Victoria "the most progressive state in our nation".
"Victorians, I think, are a lot more generous and a lot smarter than our opponents thought they were," he said.
"They want big, broad, bold politics. Not this narrow, nasty stuff that was on offer, and it was rejected comprehensively."
Nude pictures and colourful cartoons
The politics of colour was also an issue that divided Victorians in 2018.
It started when the supermarket giant, Woolworths, backflipped on a decision not to let the international photographer, Spencer Tunick, use one of its carparks for a nude photoshoot.
Woolworths initially rejected the request, citing fears it would impact customers, but later changed its mind.
Tunick, who is based in New York and is known for his nude works, ended up completing the photoshoot in an hour at the Woolworths on Chapel Street.
But the way Herald Sun cartoonist Mark Knight chose to portray American tennis player Serena Williams, ended up more of a controversy.
The cartoon was the Walkley-winning Knight's take on the controversial US Open final, which Williams lost to Japan's Naomi Osaka after being given three code violations.
Williams' behaviour has divided onlookers, with some saying she was out of line while others believe she was the victim of overzealous or discriminatory officiating.
Knight's cartoon shows Williams stamping on her racquet with a dummy on the ground and the umpire telling Osaka: "Can you just let her win?"
But some people have criticised the image for what they say are its racist undertones, which Knight rejected.
"I saw the world number one tennis player have a huge hissy fit and spit the dummy. That's what the cartoon was about, her poor behaviour on the court," he said.
"I drew her as an African-American woman. She's powerfully built. She wears these outrageous costumes when she plays tennis. She's interesting to draw. I drew her as she is, as an African-American woman."
Splitting up the twins
Victoria, along with the rest of the nation, was captivated when conjoined Bhutanese twins Nima and Dawa were separated at the Royal Children's hospital during a marathon operation.
The girls, who shared a liver, were not used to their new found independence and preferred to have their legs intertwined.
They have since been discharged from hospital.
Farewell, Hendo
But for many of the ABC's loyal Victorian viewers, the departure of legendary newsreader Ian Henderson was among the year's most moving moments.
Henderson announced his retirement in a bid to spend more time with his grandchild, but his attempts to say goodbye to this audience was cut short due to a technical glitch.
So on what was meant to be the first day of his retirement, the 65-year-old treaded the well-worn path back to the studio to say goodbye and pay tribute to his audience.
"Thank you for all your kind and thoughtful messages of the past fortnight and for welcoming me into your homes all these years," he said.
"To all of you: travel well and should our paths cross down the track, make sure you say hello."
Topics: law-crime-and-justice, terrorism, unrest-conflict-and-war, sexual-offences, crime, infant-health, arts-and-entertainment, contemporary-art, media, tennis, melbourne-3000, vic
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