Three quarters of a century after hundreds of Japanese prisoners of war escaped from a detention camp in Cowra, New South Wales, the town has forged a friendship with Japan centred on peace and respect.

Caroline Harte is mostly confined to her bed after a fall at work. While her insurer completes modifications to her home she sleeps next to a portable toilet and shower.

Bathurst's resident golf pro, Matt Barratt, centre, works with schools to recruit juniors to the sport.

Golf clubs around the country are failing to meet the needs of modern consumers and as a result memberships are at an all-time low.

Towns in regional NSW experience snowfall for the first time in 20 years as a deep polar vortex, which battered south-east Australia yesterday, moves north.

The Tristar Medical Group's chain of 50 clinics across regional Australia has been under "significant financial stress for 18 months" resulting in doctors often not being paid for weeks or months.

Lambs have died of hypothermia and orchards are ready for a fruitful spring following a snow event in regional New South Wales.

Parents of children attending regional and rural schools are calling for a commonsense approach in the wake of the NSW Government's crackdown on school enrolment caps and out-of-area enrolments.

The death of one of the fiercest advocates for changing the name of the Mid Western Highway to Wiradjuri Way prompts renewed calls for change.

As the drought continues, water is being carted by train for the first time in decades to keep production on track at a NSW coal mine and secure 140 full-time jobs.

The wool market has plummeted a massive 163 cents a kilogram this week, or more than 10 per cent, prompting an industry leader to call for a halt to trading.

Very few young people think about the health risks of drinking but research is proving that alcohol is bad for your health.

Alcohol is linked to everything from cancers, liver and cardiovascular disease, stroke and depression.

Alcoholism is big problem in regional areas where health support is limited and the dangers of drink driving are made worse by distance.

Drinking is part of every gathering in the bush but finding support if you want to go sober can be tough.

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She already had years of experience in humanitarian work, but Carly Learson describes her Myanmar role as "probably the toughest job I've ever had".

The NSW Nationals leader John Barilaro says "green tape" is standing in the way of long-term solutions to the drought crisis, and suggests the state could borrow money to reshape water infrastructure.

Connor Drum admits he steals food from the supermarket to supplement the Newstart payments he receives unable to find work, some in the Federal Government say he should leave the support networks he has in Canberra to search for a job in regional Australia.

The founder of an online discussion supporting hundreds trying to go dry believes drought, financial hardship, uncertainty, and isolation are causing more rural people to self-medicate with alcohol.

After four decades, a rural community farewells the family behind the town's first and only Chinese restaurant and celebrates their role in diversifying its culinary palate.

From their humble beginnings inside former churches, hostels and retail stores, regional conservatoriums continue to play a leading role in music education outside metropolitan areas.

In 1969 a young Australian shearer travelled to Israel to orchestrate an arson attack he believed would prompt the return of Jesus and usher in the end of the world. The consequences still ring today.