Are you feeling torn about celebrating the Melbourne Cup today? We asked our ABC Messenger audience how they felt about the race that stops the nation and what they loved (and hated) about it.

Over four years, Bobby Singh made more than $2 million in subsidies for students enrolled at this Melbourne training college. It never taught a single class. But it all came undone in one phone call.

Every fortnight, dozens on Indigenous students of all ages arrive at Noorla Heritage Resort in Ingham in north Queensland. They spend the week running the resort and working towards qualifications in small business, hospitality, management and tourism.

These fairground ponies have seen brighter days. They wait in the dry grass for a new generation of children to climb aboard and giggle with delight.

A number of businesses in Mackay's city heart are struggling to keep afloat since the Mackay Regional Council's City Centre Revitalisation Project commenced in August last year. The project aims to give the CBD an $18.6 million makeover by revitalising footpaths, street furniture and underground storm water drains, and is due to be completed by the end of 2015.

Natalie Holt has built a 'she shed' in the backyard of her Bangalow home.

While clothing manufacturing has declined in Australia, one factory in Dimboola is still going strong after 38 years.

South coast photographer, Nic Duncan, has been named Western Australia's 2015 Portrait Photographer of the Year by industry body, the Australian Institute of Professional Photography (AIPP). Her environmental portraits offer a glimpse into the lives of diverse individuals, centred around a unique Great Southern town.

The coast's best musical talent has been celebrated at the inaugural Gold Coast Music Awards night.

The idea was simple; find a spot in Australia with some of the best weather in the world, move there, and start brewing German beer.

Working nine to five in a stable job as an information technology consultant would be enough to make some people very happy. For Vincent Brouillet it was not enough, he craved freedom, fresh air and the chance to fulfil a dream.

Now in its sixth year, the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF) continues to grow in size as well as national and international recognition. The three day event begins on July 31 and attracts visitors and exhibitors from around Australia and the world. ABC Far North spoke to a select few of the artists exhibiting at this year's event.

A Toowoomba-based environmental scientist says finding a small population of a threatened grass in the middle of the city was exciting, as is the process of conserving it in another park.

Sale College science students swapped the indoors for the outdoors to take part in the Bug Blitz program and create an art installation for Lake Guyatt.

In the early hours of Friday morning when most people were waking and getting ready for work or school, 200 military personnel in north Queensland were close to finishing 24 hours of hard work.

Duneira is a late Nineteenth Century country house in Mt Macedon - but it has a curious history.

Mount Panorama has made the most experienced racing driver and their team shudder, but it hasn't stopped a group of TAFE students taking on the mountain.

Memories of sporting glory, last-minute comebacks, old friendships and rivalries are hidden in plain sight behind a few coats of paint.

It's hoped that a fossil hunting expedition to Lightning Ridge will lead to the discovery of new Australian dinosaurs.

The shooting of Nambour director Chris Sun's fourth horror epic is underway in the small country town of Kandanga in the Mary Valley. If you are lucky enough to pass through the one street hamlet in the next month you will see some of Australia's finest actors. ABC Sunshine Coast spoke to a few of them about the experience.

An unsealed road leading to a family farm between Albany and Denmark reveals an unexpected treasure trove of military artefacts.

The latest tool in weed eradication in New South Wales and possibly Australia has a wet nose, a wagging tail and is called Sally.

At the far end of the campsite and caravan city in the Amamoor State forest at the Great Australian Music Hall, ABC Local Radio helped to kick off the 2015 Gympie Muster with the inaugural Muster Showcase. Eight different musical acts took to the stage giving gathered crowds a taste of what is to come at the four day music festival.

The 2015 Gympie Muster has come to a close with some of the biggest acts in Australian country music taking to the stage in sometimes the soaking rain. But with additions of popular acts like Sheppard, is the festival drifting away from its country roots?

A quirky, German-styled house at Orange in central west New South Wales tells of the city's heritage of migrants and their close ties with the Electrolux refrigeration factory.

Spraying graffiti on heritage listed buildings is something that is usually frowned upon. But when it is done in an environmentally sound way, does no actual damage and delivers an important message about sustainability, the results are surprisingly well received.

It has been three years in the making: Justyn Atkins from Launceston is now putting the finishing touches on his trusty ute in preparation for the 2015 Deni Ute Muster.

Every year at the start of spring the streets of Port Pirie are filled with the colour, sounds and sights of a festival with its roots in a medieval Italian fishing community.

Kimberley historian Dion Marinis has travelled to the US to meet the families of an air crew who died at Broome during the 1942 Japanese air raid on the remote town.

An array of spectacular orchid displays attracted more than 2,500 people from across Queensland to the Australian Orchid Council conference and show in Mackay at the weekend.

Australia and New Zealand share a long history of sporting rivalry. Last weekend both nations' competitive sides were brought to light in a basketball game between Indigenous Australian and Maori players.

A tribute to the hundreds of jockeys who have been killed during races in Australia since European settlement is being created by a stonemason in the heart of inland New South Wales.

Built in 1925, the Noojee Hotel catered for the growing timber industry in the area, providing accommodation and beer. Then in the early 1960s, a series of dinosaur sculptures were made by local man Jack Kelly. Their reputation preceded them and after much wear and tear, they were thrown out to waste. Now two locals have reignited Noojee's love affair with the prehistoric animal.

What began as a small campaign protesting against the proposed Bendigo mosque has gained the support of far-right anti-Islamic groups, spilling from social media to the streets and into a council meeting. Four Muslims from Bendigo talk about how it has affected them.

Many Nimbin residents have welcomed Federal Government plans to legalise medicinal cannabis and say their town would be an ideal hub for the new potential cash crop.

Musical therapist and violinist Greta Kelly uses the power of music to take people away from their daily worries. This is why she felt compelled to get in touch with Choir of Unheard Voices.

At least eight US states are blocking health clinics from providing abortions, describing the procedure as non-essential during the pandemic.

Auslan interpreters have been in high demand this year as they convey critical and life-saving information to the deaf and hard of hearing community.

Over the next couple of days we'll pass through the densest part of the long trail of ancient dust left by Halley's comet.

Two reviews are already underway but the tragedy has led to calls for the Aged Care Royal Commission to investigate.

Labor's Home Affairs spokesperson Kristina Keneally has sparked controversy after declaring the COVID-19 crisis should force a revamp of the temporary migration program.

The Prime Minister is laying the groundwork for Australia to re-open for business and wants what he calls a "COVID-19 safe economy" by July.

It's the holy month of Ramadan, which usually means Muslims don't eat or drink during the day and gather at night at food markets and mosques to break the fast.

The National Party is again embroiled in bitter infighting after Andrew Constance abandoned his bid for Liberal pre-selection for the seat.

With Australia's music festivals cancelled one after another as the coronavirus crisis unfolded, there was finally some good news yesterday for local music lovers.

Certain sounds called spherics and whistlers, which are electromagnetic waves, recorded in Antarctica by scientists, have been used in a new music piece called 'Aurora Musicalis'.

Kylie Moore-Gilbert, who continues to be held in an Iranian prison throughout this pandemic, despite more than 85,000 prisoners being temporarily released in Iran.

Cardinal Pell said in a statement yesterday that he was "surprised" by some of the views of the royal commission about his actions, and that "these views are not supported by evidence".