An array of Pacific Island communities converged on the Mackay Botanical Gardens last weekend to take part in the region's first Pasifika Festival. The event highlighted Mackay's diverse cultures by showcasing traditional artwork, food and performances.

Quambone, Gulargambone and Armatree residents witnessed a rare event on Saturday when a tornado blasted its way through the area.

Gippsland residents are enjoying conceptual and abstract art from Melbourne and revelling in local artist contributions along the way, in the exhibition Synthetica.

After a trip to Venice, West Gippsland artist Anita George was inspired to turn off her computer and write and draw with brush, pen and paper once again. Her passion has resulted in the exhibition Ink Talks, dissecting words, language and intent.

From its humble beginnings in the late 19th century, the Cairns Show has grown into a three day event that is one of the highlights on the social calendar for Cairns. The ABC Far North team ventured into the thick of the show this year to hear from the people who make it such an occasion.

It was a bright crisp Queensland winter's day when Costa Georgiadis, host of ABC's Gardening Australia program, visited Tin Can Bay to celebrate 12 months of hard work by the local school in building, maintaining, and expanding their very own veggie plot.

Despite battling cool wintery winds and the rushing splashes of waves, workers have begun the process of giving Newcastle's Ocean Baths their annual 'spring' clean.

About 300 people took part in Saturday's Reclaim the Night rally, where women and girls marched through the town to Victory Park, sang and carried banners.

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.

An innovative baiting method being trialled on Queensland's Cape York Peninsula could be used on a larger scale to reduce the impact feral pigs have on Australia's marine turtle populations.

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.

Researchers from the University of Western Australia (UWA) are spending their mornings chasing down the tiny marsupials to study their sugary diets.

Landscape, memory and Monet

For the first time in 10 years, the annual Queensland Variety Bash has departed from Cairns.

For more than 30 years over 45,000 refugees have lived behind barbed wire in an overcrowded camp near Thailand's border with Myanmar. Dr Patty Salisbury, a county doctor from the NSW town of Bega, has been just returned from a year in the Mae La Refugee Camp.

A steam train puffing its way through regional New South Wales is delighting young and old and being used to educate schoolchildren about Australia's rail heritage and its role in their own history.

On a bitter winters night in north west Queensland, a small rural community braved the cold to support the finals of local touch football competition's return.

A 7-year stint in the Navy wasn't enough to stop a Kalgoorlie-Boulder race horse trainer following in the family trade. Paddy Birmingham doesn't mind the early mornings when he gets to see his horses cross the line.

Young actors made up to look like accident victims experience the life-changing process of getting into character as they aim to reduce the youth road toll. Warning: This story contains graphic imagery and content that may upset some people.

With shorelines shifting around the globe, communities in low lying areas along the Mid West & Wheatbelt coastline are experiencing the brunt of coastal erosion.

A sea of children wearing decorated socks rippled through the school gates at Mackay Central State School to witness the launch of a new statewide road safety campaign.

An outback Queensland grazier has organised a fine art photography workshop in the tiny town of Yaraka as a way to not only improve her skills but to escape the harsh reality of drought for a weekend.

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.

Tom Duddy's passion for collecting dates back to his days as a young boy hanging around shearing sheds. Now he has used that passion to turn the Prairie Hotel into a one of a kind outback museum.

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.

When the race track light's changed from yellow to green students witnessed months of hard work flash before their eyes, and the only evidence left behind was a cloud of smoke at the starting line.

What does the future hold for regional towns? To some, it's about change. For others, it's about things staying much the same.

Spring is in the air in Newcastle, with the season's racing carnival officially launched.

The north Queensland town of Ingham has no shortage of pasta makers. A large number of the town's residents are of Italian heritage - but the owners of the local pasta manufacturing business are not. Despite this they still have the approval of the local nonnas.

Moss Vale photographer Ashley Mackevicius couldn't compete with his school friend Nick Cave for music or poetry skills, so he switched to photography. Cave went on to become one of Australia's greatest ever musicians, and Mackevicius did the same for photography.

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.

The Anzac Commemoration Postcards Exhibition features 90 hand-embroidered postcards compiled by the ladies from NSW Embroiderers' Guild. The travelling exhibition includes embroidered replicas of postcards sent to and from the war front during World War I as well as postcards designed by the guild.

As thousands gathered across the country for the Light the Dark vigils in support of Syrian asylum seekers, more than 100 people gathered in the small town of Castlemaine in central Victoria.

A candlelight vigil has been held in central Newcastle aiming to raise awareness of the plight of refugees around the world.

Graffiti artists in Tamworth are now able to legally paint on two walls at the skate park after talks with Tamworth Regional Council deliver 6 month trial.

The Nurses Union is putting pressure on the health board to act on IRC recommendations

He's been a popular artist on the local Gippsland scene for a number of years and has received a number of awards from regional art shows, but admirers might be surprised to know Jason Foster never officially trained as an artist. Jason taught himself how to depict Gippsland's rolling hills after falling in love with them and making South Gippsland his home five years ago.

On a cattle property near the outback Queensland town of Barcaldine, Jocelyn Chandler has created a spectacular green oasis with her own bare hands. Her garden has undergone a dramatic transformation since she and her husband bought the property in 1979, when there was just one mango tree, one kurrajong tree, and a couple of shrubs near the house.

Powerful surf, cool winds and sporadic pockets of heavy rain has swept across the Hunter.

In Maffra's memorial hall almost a million Lego pieces are being constructed into dragons, landmarks and streetscapes in an exhibition to raise money for the Central Gippsland Health Service.

Gymnastics clubs from around the country converge in Bendigo for the National Club Championships.

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.

For a week, knights, elves and fairies made the rolling hills of Gippsland their home as they battled for glory. Meanwhile, a dragon-decorated castle is becoming a popular choice for weddings.

A hospital corridor is not where you would normally find an art exhibition, but Busted is not a normal exhibition.

From late August every year, wildflowers blanket the south west corner of Western Australia. The ABC Great Southern's wildflower photo competition showcases the most beautiful blooms of the season, submitted by audience members.

Riverland youngsters stepped back in time this week to make butter, fly kites and learn about the past when the Loxton Historical Village opened its doors for its annual Kids Day Out.

The importance of empowering women worldwide was at the forefront of discussion when hundreds of women gathered in north Queensland recently. Many of them said education was the key.