The Corporate Town of Murray Bridge was a

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

from 1924 to 1977. It was established in February 1924, when the town of

Murray Bridge Murray Bridge may refer to. *Murray Bridge, South Australia, a city and locality *Rural City of Murray Bridge, a local government area in South Australia *Corporate Town of Murray Bridge, a former local government area in South Australia See also ...

was severed from the

District Council of Mobilong The District Council of Mobilong was a local government area in South Australia from 1884 to 1977. It was proclaimed on 26 June 1884, comprising the cadastral Hundred of Mobilong. The first meeting was held on 12 July 1884 in the Murray Bridg ...

, of which it had been the council seat and largest town, and incorporated as its own municipality. It was divided into four wards at its inception (North, South, East and West), each electing two councillors.

Maurice Parish Maurice William Parish (29 December 1890 – 17 January 1980) was an Australian politician who represented the South Australian House of Assembly multi-member seat of Murray from 1915 to 1918. He was elected at as a United Labor Party member, le ...

, who had been chairman of the Mobilong council, was appointed as the inaugural mayor of Murray Bridge. The two councils subsequently agreed that the town council would inherit the existing

Murray Bridge Town Hall Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...

in exchange for providing for the construction of new offices for the Mobilong council in Bridge Street. The council's early years saw the acquisition of roadmaking equipment, the construction of enclosed swimming baths, dressing and shelter sheds on the river foreshore, and the ongoing management of the Sturt Reserve and Long Island camping grounds. It played a role in the supply of electricity to the town for many years, initially distributing supply privately generated by the Murray Bridge Electricity Supply Company, taking over the power plant itself in late 1944, before selling the facility to the South Australian Electricity Trust in 1948. A free public library lending service was initiated in 1967, and an underground system of stormwater drainage implemented in 1969. It ceased to exist on 4 April 1977, when it amalgamated with the District Council of Mobilong to form the

District Council of Murray Bridge The Rural City of Murray Bridge is a Local government in Australia, local government area of South Australia centred on the regional city of Murray Bridge, South Australia, Murray Bridge and stretching south to Lake Alexandrina, South Australia, ...

(since renamed the

Rural City of Murray Bridge The Rural City of Murray Bridge is a local government area of South Australia centred on the regional city of Murray Bridge and stretching south to Lake Alexandrina. It was formed in 1977 by amalgamation of the District Council of Mobilong and ...

). The rapid growth of Murray Bridge had seen the town expanding into the area controlled by the district council, and the associated development issues had strengthened arguments for amalgamation.

Mayors of Murray Bridge

(1924–1927) * John Homburg (1927–1930) *

(1930–1933) * Keir Cairns Elliot McLean (1933–1934) * B. W. Leach (1934–1935) * Keir Cairns Elliot McLean (1935–1940) * Herbert Howard Hefford (1940–1943) * Clarence Charles Cooke (1943–1951) *

Hector White Hector Burnard White (18 June 1900 – 9 June 1969) was an Australian politician who represented the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Murray from 1953 to 1956 for the Liberal and Country League. In local politics, he was mayor of the C ...

(1951–1956) * Erich Wilhelm Doecke (1956–1963) * Sydney James Cawte (1963–1969) * Erich Wilhelm Doecke (1969–1975) * Raymond John Helps (1975–1977)

References

{{Former local government areas in South Australia