Murray Bridge, South Australia
Murray Bridge is a city in the Australian state of South Australia, located east-southeast of the state's capital city, Adelaide, and north of the town of Meningie.
The city is called Pomberuk by the traditional owners of the land, the Ngarrindjeri people. It was later known as Mobilong and later as Edwards Crossing, before being renamed as Murray Bridge in 1924, deriving its name from the then Murray River road/rail bridge crossing over the Murray River. The city is situated on the Princes Highway, the main road transport link between Adelaide and Melbourne.
The city services a farming area including dairy, pigs, chickens, cereal crops and vegetables.
History
Murray Bridge is in the traditional lands of the Ngarrindjeri people, who refer to Murray Bridge as Pomberuk. The first European explorer was Charles Sturt, who camped there on 8 February 1830.The first road bridge across the lower Murray was known as The Murray Bridge and completed at Edwards's Crossing in 1879. To distinguish this bridge with the many other bridges that cross the Murray River, this bridge is known as the Murray River road bridge, Murray Bridge. The bridge became a shared road and rail bridge in 1886 until the separate rail bridge was completed in 1925. The bridge was designed for rail track gauge though in actuality, only gauge trains ever used it.
The District Council of Mobilong was established in 1884, bringing local government to the township, then known as Mobilong, and the surrounding land within the Hundred of Mobilong. By 1923, the council had absorbed the southern two-thirds of the neighbouring Hundred of Burdett across the river, the Hundred of Ettrick further east, and part of the Hundred of Brinkley to the south. The Mobilong township by then had its own ward. The township seceded from Mobilong council in 1924, calling itself the Corporate Town of Murray Bridge, effectively renaming the township.
In 1920, there was a picture theatre in Murray Bridge known as the Lyric Theatre, leased by Dan Clifford Theatres. At that time, audiences were dwindling owing to only silent films being able to be shown, but there were plans to upgrade to enable screening of "talkies".
In 1977 the two local councils recombined as the District Council of Murray Bridge.
In 1979 the Swanport Bridge, carrying the South Eastern Freeway across the Murray River was completed downstream, removing most through traffic from the historic road and rail bridge.
In 1993 the local municipal council crossed a population threshold, enabling it to be declared a city, the Rural City of Murray Bridge. The bounded locality of Murray Bridge remained the majority population centre and seat of the city council.
Murray Bridge contains a number of heritage-listed sites, including the Murray Bridge Transport Precinct, listed on the South Australian Heritage Register.
Geography
Location
Murray Bridge is located 76 km south-east of Adelaide and is the population centre of the Murraylands region. The city has an urban area of 97.5 km2, making up 5.3% of the Rural City of Murray Bridge council area of 1,832 km2.Water
Situated along the Murray River, the river is the lifeblood of the city and surrounding areas. The river flows into nearby Lake Alexandrina and Lake Albert. Adelaide receives 55% of its water supply from the Murray on average. In the 1982/83 drought, 90% of Adelaide's supply was pumped from the Murray. The "Iron Triangle" industrial area receives 90% of its water from the Murray.Suburbs
Refer to the Rural City of Murray Bridge for townships within the council area.Suburbs within the city include Northern Heights, Murray Bridge North, Murray Bridge East, Murray Bridge South, Riverglades, Gifford Hill, and Avoca Dell.
Murray Bridge also has a number of unofficially named neighbourhoods including: Westside, Southside, Birdsville, Pathways, and Narooma Waters. The latest development to Murray Bridge includes a new estate called Newbridge.
The city used to have a number of neighbourhoods, now part of the wider Murray Bridge township, these included: Hornsey Park, Bridgeport, Riverview, Murray Bridge Estate, Murray Gardens, Totness Park, Dunoon Park, Morningside, South Mobilong, Kerkanya, Ruglea Park, Sladdentown, Glenview, Westland, Slade Park, Rundleville, Railway Land, Myrleville, Ritterville, Riverdene, Hawkelea, Murray Bridge Extension, Pine Park, Laneville, Murray Park, and Esmond Park. Some of these names have been retained as streets, parks or businesses.
Climate
Murray Bridge has a warm temperate semi-arid climate, with very warm, dry summers and mild, slightly wetter winters. Mean maxima vary from in January and February to in July, while mean minima fluctuate between in January and in July. Annual precipitation is rather low, averaging between 101.5 precipitation days. Despite this, the town has 78.8 clear days and 145.7 cloudy days per annum. Extreme temperatures have ranged from on 24 January 2019 to on 21 July 1982.Demographics
In the , the Murray Bridge area had a population of 20,858. The median age was 41, and 21.7% of the population were born overseas. The median weekly household income was $973 per week, compared with the South Australian average of $1,206 per week.The urban area that contains and surrounds Murray Bridge had a population of in the. In the, the population was. In the, the population was.
In the 2006 Census, 10.4% of the population were born overseas, and 4.5% were Indigenous Australians. The median weekly household income was A$639 per week, compared with $924 in Adelaide. 13.3% of the population identified themselves as Lutheran, while a higher 24.7% identified with no religion.
Economy
Local industry
The primary industries in the city include agriculture and manufacturing, including food manufacturing.Retail
Most of Murray Bridge's retail and dining facilities are located on and in close proximity to Bridge Street. The majority contained within two main shopping centres, Murray Bridge Green and Murray Bridge Marketplace.Murray Bridge Green opened in 1976 as a Woolworths supermarket and a small number of additional stores. The centre was extended in 2001 and included a Target Country. A new addition to the original shopping complex was completed in 2015, which included a second Coles, and a new Target replacing Target Country, which the site made way for a Cheap as Chips discount store. After 42 years of trading, the Woolworths store closed in May 2018.
A Drakes Supermarket opened in mid-2019 at the former Woolworths supermarket site of Murray Bridge Green shopping centre. Drake's is the seventh supermarket currently operating in Murray Bridge.
Murray Bridge Marketplace was opened in November 2011 and contains the city's second Woolworths supermarket, a Big W department store, Priceline, Best & Less, Reject Shop, 45 specialty stores, a food court and the public library with undercover parking for over 900 cars. There was a previous Woolworths store that was located in Bridge Street on the corner of Sixth Street opposite the then Town Hall and Court House. This store opened in either late 1969 or 1970 and was later replaced by the 1976 store at the Murray Bridge Green located on Swamport Road and Standen Street.
Discount supermarket Aldi opened further west from the Murray Bridge CBD, on the corner of Adelaide Road and Thomas Street in late 2018.
Supermarkets in Murray Bridge include a Coles at Murray Bridge Green, Woolworths at Murray Bridge Marketplace, Josh's IGA Westside on Adelaide Road and IGA Swanport, on Swanport Road. The original Woolworths supermarket at Murray Bridge Green was open from 1976 and closed in 2018.
Target closed in early 2021 and was replaced by K Hub.
Arts and culture
Entertainment
The Murray Bridge Town Hall, built in 1911 and redeveloped in 2010, is a theatre seating up to 300 people located in the city centre. It is managed by the Rural City of Murray Bridge council and hosts events year-round including musicals, travelling shows and fringe festival events.Cameo Cinema, a single-screen cinema that seats 250 people, is located on Second Street within the city centre. It shows major movie releases and is the only cinema in the region.
Local events
Murray Bridge hosts a number of popular community events such as the Murray Bridge Fringe Festival, Christmas Pageant and Fireworks Spectacular, Splash Festival, and numerous street stalls and farmers markets.Museums and gallery
The city is home to the Round House and Captain's Cottage Museum, both are open for tours and interactive experiences with the history of the area.The Murray Bridge Regional Gallery exhibits local and regional artists and includes a gallery shop.
Public library
The Murray Bridge Library, is a public library operated by the Rural City of Murray Bridge council, and is located on the lower level in the Murray Bridge Marketplace shopping centre. Opened in 2011, after moving from its former location on South Terrace, the library overlooks the Murray River and boasts a large selection of books, self-service kiosks, computers, kitchen and gallery areas.Parks, recreation, and sport
Parks and open spaces
The Murray Bridge area has approximately 65 parks, reserves and open spaces for public use that range from small reserves to large family-friendly areas.Sturt Reserve
Sturt Reserve is a popular riverfront area that includes a large playground, barbeque areas, mooring and shelter.Murray Bridge is home to "The Bunyip", a mechanical representation of the legendary water monster, located on Sturt Reserve. Many South Australian children fondly remember their first visit to the Bunyip, putting a coin in the machine and watching the Bunyip emerge from its watery cage complete with shrieking sound effects.