Ballarat residents are being urged to speak out for those who may not have a voice of their own and report family violence. Read more.

These amazing photographs were taken on Wednesday afternoon at the Bungal Dam on Lal Lal Reservoir by Courier photographer Lachlan Bence. Read more.

Heartless scammers are taking advantage of vulnerable flood victims by posing as Pyrenees Council workers claiming to offer grants. Read more.

Philip Wollen was in his early thirties when he became vice president of Citibank. Read more.

Lake Wendouree has appointed Springbank premiership player Tim Malone as its playing-coach for 2017. Read more.

A top of 22 degrees today! That feels like summer after our recent months.

Need a national news snapshot first thing? Well, we have you covered. 

► Green spaces and our health. What’s the connection, you might ask? It’s one of many questions set to be examined in a $3.2 million research project at the University of Wollongong (UOW), which includes an Australian-first look at the link between vegetation and a child’s academic scores. Read more.

► It was an Anzac Day get-together at a Lake Macquarie pub for some schooners and two-up which has left one man with permanent brain damage and his mate facing jail time for the punch that caused the injury. Read more.

► A preliminary investigation by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) found South Australia’s statewide power blackout was “triggered by extreme weather”. The report found there was no “unusual activity” in the state’s electricity until Wednesday afternoon’s storm brought down 22 transmission towers and cut three major lines. Read more.

► A holidaying bushwalker searching for virtual Pokemon has instead shot riveting live video of three big red-bellied black snakes 30 centimetres from his feet. Read more.

► You don’t have to go to Rio, but you can’t stay here. That’s the message from the City of Bunbury which is playing looped audio of the Peter Allen classic “I Go to Rio” at the Graham Bricknell Music Shell, the city’s outdoor bandstand on the waterfront, to deter the homeless, vandals, and other antisocial elements. Read more.

► A man accused of the 1982 murder of Elizabeth “Betty” Dixon has indicated he would plead guilty to a back-up charge of concealing a serious offence. Rodney Lawrence, 65, was committed on Wednesday to stand trial for the murder of Ms Dixon, whose body was found in her car in bushland at Ashtonfield. Read more.

► One of Victoria's biggest drinking water storage facilities is spilling for the first time in four years after repeated heavy rainfall over a soggy catchment. Read more.

► Thousands of race fans lined the streets of Bathurst on Wednesday to welcomed the V8 Supercar teams to town for the Bathurst 1000 Race Week. See the gallery here.

► Redland snake catcher Stewart Lalor has caught the biggest red-bellied black snake he has ever seen. The two metre specimen came from Mt Cotton,a semi-rural area in south-east Queensland. Read more.

​► The national president of the RSL is facing calls to step aside in the wake of revelations he received a share of nearly $1 million in payments despite being a volunteer. Read more.

► A camel milk business that claims its "white gold" can help those with autism, diabetes and cancer has been referred to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for investigation. Read more.

► Treasurer Gladys Berejiklian claims the NSW government's debts have been wiped away but the budget papers suggest that might not last long. Read more.

► Victoria is the stolen car capital of Australia, state government and insurance industry research has found. In the 12 months to June 2016, there were more than 15,000 thefts of passenger and light commercial vehicles, by far the highest of any state or territory, according to the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council. This was a 35 per cent rise on the previous year. Read more.

► Attorney-General George Brandis is facing calls to resign after the government's top legal adviser accused him of misleading Parliament, in a dramatic escalation of a toxic row between the country's two most senior legal officers. Read more.

► The federal National Party in NSW is united against the Baird government's plan to abolish greyhound racing as senior Coalition figures worry that anger in regional areas at the dogs ban, combined with the recent focus on same-sex marriage, is weighing on the poll-challenged Turnbull government. Read more.

1866 – First U.S. train robbery

1991 – Liz Taylor marries husband No. 7

1847 – Jane Eyre is published

1996 – Country superstars Faith Hill and Tim McGraw wed

Jarryd Eriksson might not like fashion but a passion for drawing has earned him national recognition for a ski outfit he designed.

The year seven Eaglehawk student wandered into a classroom after school one day earlier this year and, while waiting for his friends to finish up on a project, began idly sketching some ideas. Read more.