Ballarat - 3350

Police have announced a significant development four days since the disappearance of Victorian woman Samantha Murphy.

A court hears Damien Woods, 49, was a trusted member of staff at Ballarat High School and became a confidante of the victim-survivor, with whom he exchanged more than 110,000 messages, beginning when the girl was 13 years old.

Samantha Murphy's friend and Ballarat Centre of Music and the Arts director Paula Heenan spoke with Raf Epstein on ABC Radio Melbourne on Wednesday morning.

Police say items recovered during a search of bushland near the home of missing Ballarat East woman Samantha Murphy are not related to her whereabouts. 

The search for the 51-year-old mother focused on Woowookarung Regional Park and the bushland area near the Buninyong Golf Course yesterday, but has now expanded to Black Hill.

Police and SES personnel are searching an area of state forest near the Victorian city in search of the missing 51-year-old.

Charger anxiety replaces range anxiety for the growing number of electric vehicle users relying on slow infrastructure.

VicForests says the risk of more court proceedings is the main reason for bringing forward the end to community forestry in Victoria's west. 

Andy Munro has garnered a social media following of millions off the back of his reels documenting abandoned country footy grounds in Victoria and South Australia.

Isabel Wait had "all but forgotten" about the locket she was given by her mum and dad when she was seven, before it was found during renovations at her old primary school.

When Lisa Gilbert was deciding what to specialise in, she had to choose between her dream physician job or staying in the region that had become her home due to limited training options outside the city.

Firefighters say the store was well alight when they arrived at the scene.

Thousands of students face a revolving door of relief teachers, cancelled subjects or being split into separate classes due to ongoing teacher shortages.

Wildlife rescuers say the koalas should have been moved to a new area before the trees near Ballarat were harvested, but the regulator is standing by its decision. 

The Wizard Jacobs was known for tricks and sleight of hand, including the famous "Chinese ring trick" and an illusion where he produced bowls of water containing goldfish from under a cloak.

What does January 26 mean to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people?  For many, there isn’t one emotion that fully captures it.

Andrew Balfour has seven transmission towers on his farm. He doesn't recommend it to others — but sites for new power infrastructure will be needed across the state as renewable energy projects take off.

Laura Ridout hoped her blueberry farm would put the Scotsburn Hills on the map. Instead, Apple took her farm off it and it turns out she's not alone.

The death of a two-month-old baby in regional Victoria on Saturday is not being treated as suspicious, Victorian police say. 

Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a baby in Ballarat overnight as a neighbour who tried to resuscitate the boy says she ran to help after hearing screams.

Sofonisba Anguissola, Lavinia Fontana and Artemisia Gentileschi were renowned in the 16th-century art world, but their achievements were written out of history. A new exhibition lifts the curtain on their extraordinary works. 

Federation TAFE introduces an accredited training course as modelling estimates that by 2028, nearly 250,000 Victorian patients are expected to demand medicinal cannabis.

Scientists are creating compostable packaging from discarded food scraps in regional Victoria. The innovation could reduce the plastics and food waste that end up in landfill.

When Nick Wilson "couldn't breathe properly" leaving a games arcade, he knew he was in trouble. Little did he know his son Harry would become a "hero".

Authorities remind the public constantly that floodwaters and cars don't mix, but drivers continue to take the risk. Here's what experts say about why people do it.