Flames fanned by strong winds caused extensive damage to the resort site, destroying the heritage-listed wooden lodge building that had stood since the 1930s.

The residents of short-term accommodation in Cairns West may struggle to find affordable housing after the complex they call home is shut down next month.

Despite a staged re-opening of classes from Monday, May 11, no clear guidance has been given for boarding students, with many independent schools opening limited classes and boarding accommodation for selected year levels.

Public figures have posted heartfelt and supportive messages for teachers on Twitter as Term 2 begins in NSW.

After soaking rains in February, for the first time in three years farmers have a real opportunity to sow a crop, but they must first face international importation issues and supply shortages of agricultural chemicals and fertiliser.

While hygiene and handwashing are on people's minds at present, there's hope that water conservation is right up there with it as parts of Australia come out of drought.

When police launched a youth outreach program in Dubbo six months ago, they would have been happy to see charge rates drop by 10 per cent. But Project Walwaay has wildly exceeded expectations.

There's nothing like a singalong and plenty in the audience did just that at last Friday night's performance of a local production that has been circulating around the North Coast for a year now.

'Brief Encounter' serves as a poignant little reminder of the volcano ready to erupt beneath the cover of a mediocre suburban life.

Politics loves the stage and it seems the stage loves politics.

A decision to prioritise a controversial coal project over the protection of Indigenous sacred sites has landed the Federal Environment Minister at the centre of a fierce legal battle.

Residents in the regional city of Armidale are using their own water to save trees in their heritage-listed park, as the drought continues to deplete the district's water supply.

Local resident Oliver Stone recorded the fire's advance towards nearby homes.

Australia's passage to the women's football tournament at the Tokyo Olympics was confirmed with an unconvincing second-leg win over Vietnam.

It's early morning and Ernie Poloni is lying in his nursing home bed. Two carers enter his room, unaware that the digital clock on the table holds a hidden camera, writes Anne Connolly

Returning to a country she adores, Kumi Taguchi wanted to find her family to deliver news her dad had died.

CCTV released by the Supreme Court showed Abdullah Chaarani carrying a large machete up the driveway at his home.

Six formerly homeless women bring their stories to the stage in Melbourne in a play they hope will galvanise the community to demand politicians invest more in social housing.

Controversial cartoonist Michael Leunig is accused of unfairly judging mothers in a cartoon that suggests some love their phones and Instagram more than their children.

Much-loved actor Anne Phelan, who featured in Australian TV programs including Bellbird and Prisoner, dies at the age of 71. The acclaimed actor was described as "simply one of the best humans".

Each Thursday in a back-alley warehouse, a group of volunteers come together to meticulously clean, repair and catalogue artefacts collected from the remnants of a Chinese temple that once stood proud in the Cairns CBD.

Hours of meticulous preparation go into every appearance on stage.

Batemans Bay was once an isolated coastal frontier settlement that grew on the back of oyster farming, timber cutting, and as a port servicing nearby goldfields. As the closest coastal town to Canberra it's now dominated by large shopping malls servicing surrounding suburbs of retirees and holiday homes. The architecture of its heritage has been lost, but two of its earliest and most significant buildings remain hidden and unknown behind 1960s shopfront facades. Will they be saved and restored?

There is no shortage of heritage to celebrate and preserve at the New Norcia Monastery in Western Australia's Mid West.

Mary Kathleen's shuttered uranium mine is bright blue, incredibly Instagram-worthy, radioactive and Queensland's latest hotspot.

A judge overturns the convictions of a bus driver who crashed into the Montague Street Bridge in South Melbourne, injuring six people. But Jack Aston will remain in prison while he is assessed for a community corrections order for lesser charges.

A bus driver jailed for seriously injuring six passengers when he crashed into South Melbourne's Montague Street Bridge in 2016 is released after an appeal.

'You don't have to be a scientist to work on them': Vintage tractors, some more than 80-years-old go under the hammer, attracting buyers from around Australia.

Volunteers for Meals on Wheels say the charity is under threat with branches surviving on bequests as Federal Government funding for the service plateaus.

A court hears a former NSW Northern Beaches baseball coach allegedly kept torture tallies, diaries naming victims, footage of alleged assaults and was in possession of child pornography.

A group of scientists is pushing for Exmouth Gulf, next to Ningaloo Reef in remote Western Australia, to be protected from industry saying its biodiversity is of global significance.

The rise of home renovation shows has helped glamorise DIY but take the cameras and personalities away and the situation is quite different especially when it comes to tackling heritage buildings.

Police release CCTV footage of a car believed to be linked to a drive-by shooting at Melbourne's Love Machine nightclub in April, which left two people dead and four others injured.

A power outage in Adelaide has resurfaced hours after it had been resolved, impacting businesses and customers in the busiest section of the Adelaide CBD. The cause is still being investigated by authorities.

A man driving a Holden Commodore allegedly reversed into a pedestrian after attempting to run over several people following an argument.

Police are investigating a horror two-car smash at an Adelaide intersection, which left a woman with serious injuries.

The footage was posted by Rebels bikie Bradley Daniele, who appears to take credit for the attack.

Two seven-week-old kittens are dumped in a garden bed at an Adelaide shopping centre, and the RSPCA is seeking help to identify the couple involved.

SA Police is reviewing its security practices as CCTV footage of a bikie attacking a child sex offender at the Adelaide City Watch House is posted online.

Police are urging anyone with information about the incident to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Police have released CCTV footage of missing backpacker Theo Hayez at a convenience store the night he disappeared.

Hidden in outback scrubland lies a once legendary racetrack, where speed records were broken, sometimes even in the nude.