Murray Bridge (formerly Mobilong and Edwards Crossing) is a city in the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

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 ...

, located east-southeast of the state's capital city,

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, and north of the town of Meningie. The city had an urban population of approximately 18,779 as at June 2018, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fifth most populous city in the state after Adelaide,

Mount Gambier Mount Gambier is the second most populated city in South Australia, with an estimated urban population of 33,233 . The city is located on the slopes of Mount Gambier, a volcano in the south east of the state, about south-east of the capital Ad ...

Gawler Gawler is the oldest country town on the Australian mainland in the state of South Australia. It was named after the second Governor (British Vice-Regal representative) of the colony of South Australia, George Gawler. It is about north of the ...

and

Whyalla Whyalla was founded as "Hummocks Hill", and was known by that name until 1916. It is the fourth most populous city in the Australian state of South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier and Gawler and along with Port Pirie and Port Augusta ...

. 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 Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) (Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest r ...

. The city is situated on the

Princes Highway Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former ...

, the main road transport link between Adelaide and

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. The city services a farming area including

dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...

, pigs, chickens,

cereal crops A cereal is any Poaceae, grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, Cereal germ, germ, and bran. Cereal Grain, grain crops are grown in greater quantit ...

and vegetables (including "stay crisp lettuces").

History

Murray Bridge is in the traditional lands of the

Ngarrindjeri The Ngarrindjeri people are the traditional Aboriginal Australian people of the lower Murray River, eastern Fleurieu Peninsula, and the Coorong of the southern-central area of the state of South Australia. The term ''Ngarrindjeri'' means "belo ...

people, who refer to Murray Bridge as Pomberuk. The first European explorer was

Charles Sturt Charles Napier Sturt (28 April 1795 – 16 June 1869) was a British officer and explorer of Australia, and part of the European exploration of Australia. He led several expeditions into the interior of the continent, starting from Sydney and la ...

, who camped there on 8 February 1830. The first

road bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

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 Murray River road bridge, Murray Bridge is a bridge in the town of Murray Bridge, located south-east of Adelaide on the Murray River north of Lake Alexandra. The bridge was built as a road bridge in 1879 and converted for mixed road/rail ...

. The bridge also 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 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 Brid ...

was established in 1884, bringing local government to the township, then known as Mobilong, and the surrounding land within the

Hundred of Mobilong The Hundred of Mobilong is a cadastral unit of hundred on the west bank of the Murray River in South Australia and centred on Murray Bridge. One of the ten hundreds of the County of Sturt, it is bounded on the east entirely by the Murray River. ...

. 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 The Corporate Town of Murray Bridge was a local government area in South Australia from 1924 to 1977. It was established in February 1924, when the town of Murray Bridge was severed from the District Council of Mobilong, of which it had been th ...

, effectively renaming the township. In 1920, there was a

picture theatre A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall (Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...

in Murray Bridge known as the Lyric Theatre, leased by Dan Clifford Theatres. At that time, audiences were dwindling owing to only

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

s being able to be shown, but there were plans to upgrade to enable screening of "

talkies A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...

". In 1977 the two local councils recombined as the

District Council 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 ...

. In 1979 the

Swanport Bridge Swanport Bridge is a road bridge that carries Highway 1 across the Murray River, located approximately southeast of the town of Murray Bridge in South Australia, Australia. Opened on 30 May 1979 by transport minister Geoff Virgo, the bridge con ...

, carrying the

South Eastern Freeway South Eastern Freeway is a freeway in South Australia (SA). It is a part of the National Highway network linking the state capital cities of Adelaide, SA, and Melbourne, Victoria, and signed as National Highway M1. It carries traffic over t ...

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 This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and man-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In many ...

sites, including the Murray Bridge Transport Precinct, listed on the

South Australian Heritage Register The South Australian Heritage Register, also known as the SA Heritage Register, is a statutory register of historic places in South Australia. It extends legal protection regarding demolition and development under the ''Heritage Places Act 1993'' ...

Geography

Location

Murray Bridge is located 76 km south-east of

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 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 an ...

council area of 1,832 km².

Water

Situated along the

, 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

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 (also known as Bird Cage, due to the streets being named after birds), 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 experiences a

cold semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

, with warm, dry summers; mild, relatively dry springs and autumns; and mild, relatively dry winters. The highest recorded temperature of was reached on 24 January 2019; making it one of the hottest temperatures ever recorded in a South Australian metropolitan area.

Demographics

As at th
2016 Census
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 as at the . In the , the population was and at the , the population was . In the 2006 Census, 10.4% of the population were born overseas, and 4.5% were

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

. The median weekly household income was A$639 per week, compared with $924 in Adelaide. 13.3% of the population identified themselves as

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

, 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 (and larger) Coles, and a new

Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...

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 (now only Woolworths after the original store closed), a

Big W Big W (stylized as BIG W) is an Australian chain of discount department stores, which was founded in regional New South Wales in 1964. The company is a division of Woolworths Group and as at 2019 operated 176 stores, with around 22,000 employee ...

department store,

Priceline Priceline may refer to: *Priceline.com, a commercial website which helps users obtain discount rates for travel-related items such as airline tickets and hotel stays *The Priceline Group, a provider of online travel & related services, and a parent ...

Best & Less Best & Less is an Australian retailer of clothing and household linens. As of 2020, Best&Less has 246 stores as well as an online platform. History Best & Less was founded by Berel Ginges in January 1965, by occupying part of the ground floor of ...

, 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 Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...

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 (the Mannum Rd supermarket closed in 2019), 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.

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

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

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

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 (including Wharf Hill and precinct) 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.

Murray Bridge Linear Park

The Murray Bridge Linear Park is a shared-use walkway that runs along Adelaide Road. Opening in stages, the Linear Park includes public toilets, shelter and a BBQ area. It provides a protected pedestrian and bicycle path leading eastward to the city centre.

Sport

In 1924 the Murray Bridge

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically atta ...

team was chosen to represent Australia at the Paris Olympics. The Murray Cods as they were known won the Australian Eight Oared Championships (the King's Cup) and were invited to compete in a test race at

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is the main port for the ...

between South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and Victoria. Although accustomed to rowing over 3 miles, the Murray Cods were able to defeat the other crews on the 1 mile and 420 yards (2 km) course. The story of their fund-raising and exploits in Paris are detailed on the Australian Rowing History website. Murray Bridge is also home to the

River Murray Football League The River Murray Football League is an Australian rules football competition based in the Murray Bridge region of South Australia, Australia. It is an affiliated member of the South Australian National Football League. History The competitio ...

, which plays

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

. The league consists of the Murray Bridge-based clubs of Ramblers and

Imperials The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 until ...

and the district teams of Mypolonga,

Mannum Mannum is a historic town on the west bank of the Murray River in South Australia, east of Adelaide. At the 2016 census, the urban area of Mannum had a population of 2,398. Mannum is the seat of the Mid Murray Council, and is situated in the ...

Tailem Bend Tailem Bend (locally, "Tailem") is a rural town in South Australia, south-east of the state capital of Adelaide. It is located on the lower reaches of the River Murray, near where the river flows into Lake Alexandrina. It is linear in layout s ...

, Jervois and Meningie. In 2005 the city's

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

, Murray Bridge Golf Club, held the State's premier regional junior team event, the Brett Ogle Cup (named after the Australian Professional golfer

Brett Ogle Brett James Ogle (born 14 July 1964) is an Australian professional golfer. Early life Ogle was born in Paddington, New South Wales, adopted at 6 weeks of age and was brought up in the town of Goulburn. He was a successful hockey player in his ...

). The home team went undefeated and qualified for the state final, losing narrowly. The team had not previously experienced such success; junior

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

in the region has since obtained a higher profile. Another sporting association in Murray Bridge is the Murray Bridge Amateur Swim Club (The Cods) which competes in meets with other clubs, as well as Country Championships (a large meet for all of the rural South Australian swim clubs) and state and national championships. Murray Bridge is also the home of the Murray Bridge Racing Club, Murray Bridge & District Table Tennis Association, and holds the 24-hour Australian International Pedal Prix race annually in September. Murray Bridge Lutheran Tennis Club plays hard court tennis on their home courts based at Christian Reserve. Hard court tennis is hosted by various clubs throughout the community, including Jervois, Brinkley, Mannum, Mypolonga and Tailem Bend as well as clubs within the township. Hard court tennis is played on both Friday nights and Saturday mornings. There are both Junior and senior divisions. Friday night tennis offers a social alternative, often offering

barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke t ...

s and after-game drinks. Lawn tennis is played at Sturt Reserve on Saturday mornings and afternoons from October to February, and is organised by the Murray Bridge Lawn Tennis Association. Murray Bridge is also known for its

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, having won numerous State Country Championships and many of its young players going on to represent South Australia in the National Championships. Murray Bridge is also home to the

Murray Bridge Speedway The Murray Machining & Sheds Murray Bridge Speedway (formerly ''Riverview Speedway'') is a Dirt track racing venue that is located in the town of Murray Bridge, South Australia, only 66 km from Adelaide. Racing at the speedway generally tak ...

which has been in operation since 1958. Located on the eastern side of the River, the speedway is a long

dirt track racing Dirt track racing is a form of motorsport held on clay or dirt surfaced oval race tracks often used for thoroughbred horse racing. Dirt track racing started in the United States before World War I and became widespread during the 1920s and 1930s ...

venue that caters to both

motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that use only ...

and car racing, hosting numerous Australian and South Australian championships during its existence. On 12 November 2011 the speedway hosted its first ever World Championship event when it will host the

FIM FIM may refer to: Organizations and companies * Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, the International Motorcycling Federation * Flint Institute of Music, in Michigan, United States * Fox Interactive Media, now News Corp. Digital Media * ...

2011 World

Sidecar speedway Sidecar Speedway is a motorcycle sport involving 4 crews of a rider and a passenger competing over 4 laps on an oval shale surface. Rules are governed by the national speedway federation and are not dissimilar to conventional speedway rules. S ...

Championship with Murray Bridge's own Jesse Headland winning the title as passenger to NSW based rider Darrin Treloar. Headland was the winner of the 2010 Championship in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

with his father Mick Headland.

Governance

Local government

The following bounded localities gazetted in South Australia are considered suburbs of the city of Murray Bridge and are governed by the same city council: Avoca Dell, Gifford Hill, Greenbanks, Long Flat, Mobilong, Monteith, Murray Bridge East, Murray Bridge North, Murray Bridge South,

Northern Heights The Northern line is a London Underground line that runs from North London to South London. It is printed in black on the Tube map. The Northern line is unique on the Underground network in having two different routes through central London, two ...

, Riverglades, Riverglen, Sunnyside, Swanport,

Toora Toora is a small farming town in Victoria, Australia whose main industry is dairy farming. It is located at the top of Corner Inlet opposite Wilsons Promontory National Park. In the the population was 681. History The Post Office opened on ...

, White Hill, White Sands, and Willow Banks.

State and federal government

Murray Bridge is part of the state

Electoral district of Hammond Hammond is a single-member electoral district for the South Australian House of Assembly. It is named after Ruby Hammond, the first indigenous woman to stand for the Federal Parliament. Hammond is a rural electorate east and south-east of Adela ...

, which has been held since 2006 by Liberal MP Adrian Pederick. In federal politics, the city is part of the

division of Barker The Division of Barker is an Australian Electoral Division in the south-east of South Australia. The division was established on 2 October 1903, when South Australia's original single multi-member division was split into seven single-member div ...

, and has been represented by Liberal MP

Tony Pasin Antony "Tony" Pasin (born 1 October 1977) is an Australian politician. He is a member of the Liberal Party of Australia for the House of Representatives seat of Barker since the 2013 election. Early life Pasin was born in Mount Gambier, Sout ...

since 2013. At local level, Murray Bridge is part of the

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 ...

Education

Primary and Secondary Education

Local schools include Unity College, Murray Bridge North School, Murray Bridge South Primary School, Fraser Park Primary School, St Joseph's School, Murray Bridge High School and Tyndale Christian College.

Tertiary Education

Murray Bridge has a small

TAFE SA TAFE South Australia (TAFE SA) provides vocational education and training in South Australia. The acronym TAFE stands for Technical and Further Education and is used and recognised nationally throughout Australia. TAFE SA is a Registered trai ...

campus, which offers a limited selection of tertiary courses.

Flinders University Flinders University is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across 11 locations in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of British navigator ...

opened a rural medical campus in 2012. This location gives students a rural medical placement.

Media

Newspaper

Murray Bridge is home to ''

The Murray Valley Standard ''The Murray Valley Standard'' is a bi-weekly newspaper published in Murray Bridge, South Australia, founded in late 1934 and published continuously since then. Its main office is on Adelaide Road, Murray Bridge. It was later sold to Rural Press, ...

'' newspaper, whose first edition was printed and distributed on 23 November 1934. It is now published on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Dozens of other regional newspapers, publications and catalogues are also printed at the former

Rural Press Australian Community Media (ACM) is a media company in Australia responsible for over 160 regional publications. Its mastheads include the ''Canberra Times'', ''Newcastle Herald'', '' The Examiner'', ''The Border Mail'', '' The Courier'' and th ...

facility on Adelaide Road. In 2020, Australian Community Media (ACM) announced that the

Murray Valley Standard ''The Murray Valley Standard'' is a bi-weekly newspaper published in Murray Bridge, South Australia, founded in late 1934 and published continuously since then. Its main office is on Adelaide Road, Murray Bridge. It was later sold to Rural Press, ...

will cease being printed along with a number of other regional newspapers. This was in part due to COVID-19, but also due to organisational changes and growing online activity. The printing press at the Murray Bridge site was closed and resulted in the loss of 26 jobs. However, the Murray Valley Standard is still published online as of 19 May 2021. A monthly community newspaper, first printed on 19 August 1971, was the ''Bridge Observer'' (1971-1976). It was later revived in 1983 under the same title, including an insert called ''Mannum Mercury'' (1983-1984), and was briefly known as the combined title of ''Bridge Mercury'' (1984).

Radio

Radio stations 5MU (1125 AM),

Power FM Capital South Coast was a regional radio station owned by operated by Global Radio as part of the Capital radio network. It broadcast to Hampshire from studios in Segensworth, Fareham. In 2019, Capital South Coast was replaced by Capital So ...

(98.7 FM) and River City FM (87.6 FM) are also based at Murray Bridge.

Online

Local journalist, Peri Strathearn established Murray Bridge News after the job losses at the Murray Valley Standard. Murray Bridge News is an online platform that regularly publishes articles from the city's only dedicated full-time journalist.

Infrastructure

Transport

Rail

Murray Bridge railway station Murray Bridge railway station is located on the Adelaide to Wolseley line serving the South Australian town of Murray Bridge. History Murray Bridge station was opened in 1880s as part of the Adelaide-Wolseley railway line. The line opened i ...

is on the Adelaide to Wolseley railway line, the South Australian part of the

Melbourne–Adelaide rail corridor The Melbourne–Adelaide rail corridor is a standard-gauge railway corridor that runs between the cities of Melbourne, Victoria and Adelaide, South Australia. Most of the current traffic is freight; the only passenger train along the entire rou ...

. It is served by

Journey Beyond Journey Beyond is the business name (together with more than a dozen other related names) of Experience Australia Group Pty Ltd, a private equity-owned company known mainly for operating Australian interstate experiential tourism trains (''The ...

's twice weekly passenger service ''

The Overland ''The Overland'' is an Australian passenger train service between the state capitals of Melbourne and Adelaide, a distance of 828 km (515 mi). It first ran in 1887 as the ''Adelaide Express'', known by South Australians as the ''Melb ...

'' operating between

and

is the only passenger railway that still services Murray Bridge, after South Australia's country rail operations ceased in the 1990s. Over recent years there have been discussions about re-instating commuter rail services between

and Murray Bridge, however there has been little to no progress made. The Murray Bridge Transport Precinct is a historic area that includes the railway station and wharf area, the original bridge constructed in 1879 and converted for dual road and rail use in 1886. It returned to being only a road bridge in 1925 when a separate rail bridge (also included in the heritage precinct) opened to handle heavier trains. The railway now passes under the road approach to the bridge through the

Murray Bridge Tunnel The Murray Bridge tunnel is a South Australian Heritage Register, heritage-listed railway tunnel located in Murray Bridge, South Australia. The tunnel houses a single train line as it runs under Bridge Street in Murray Bridge and links the Murra ...

, a short cut-and-cover tunnel built as part of works for the new rail bridge in 1925.

Highways

Both bridges cross the

between Murray Bridge and Murray Bridge East. The road bridge was part of the

from 1935 until 1979. Murray Bridge is now connected by road to Adelaide via the

which leads to a newer crossing of the river further south on the

built in 1979. State road route B35 connects from the north of the town towards

Palmer Palmer may refer to: People and fictional characters * Palmer (pilgrim), a medieval European pilgrim to the Holy Land * Palmer (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Palmer (surname), including a list of people and ...

and the central Adelaide Hills and route B36 leads towards

, other river towns and the

Sturt Highway Sturt Highway is an Australian national highway in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. It is an important road link for the transport of passengers and freight between Sydney and Adelaide and the regions situated adjacent to the r ...

Bus

Various bus and coach services are provided in Murray Bridge, the primary operator being

LinkSA Keolis Downer is a joint venture between Keolis, the largest private sector French transport group, and Downer Rail, an Australian railway engineering company, that operates bus and tram services in Australia. History In June 2009, the Victor ...

, operating a service to Adelaide via Mount Barker and local 'Dial-A-Ride' service. Stateliner (formerly Premier Stateliner) stop at Murray Bridge on its south-east services to Mt Gambier.

V/Line V/Line is a statutory authority that operates regional passenger train and coach services in Victoria, Australia. It provides passenger train services on five commuter lines and eight long-distance routes from its major hub at Southern Cross ...

operate day and night coaches between

Adelaide Central bus station Adelaide Central bus station is Adelaide's main terminus for long distance coach services. It is located on Franklin Street. History Terminal 1 of the Adelaide Central bus station was opened in September 1969 on the corner of Franklin and B ...

and Melbourne, and Firefly to Sydney, both operators service Murray Bridge.

Airport

Murray Bridge Airport is nine kilometres north of the town, but does not have any scheduled services.

Walking Trails

The

Lavender Federation Trail The Lavender Federation Trail is a long distance walking trail in the eastern Mount Lofty Ranges in South Australia. It extends from Murray Bridge to Clare. It is named after Terry Lavender OAM and development started in 1999. Route The trail ...

is a long-distance walking trail () that extends from Murray Bridge along the eastern

Mount Lofty Ranges The Mount Lofty Ranges are a range of mountains in the Australian state of South Australia which for a small part of its length borders the east of Adelaide. The part of the range in the vicinity of Adelaide is called the Adelaide Hills and ...

to Clare.

Sister cities

Murray Bridge has two

sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

. * Laredo,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

Sanmenxia Sanmenxia (; postal: Sanmenhsia) is a prefecture-level city in the west of Henan Province, China. The westernmost prefecture-level city in Henan, Sanmenxia borders Luoyang to the east, Nanyang to the southeast, Shaanxi Province to the west and Sh ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Sister Cities Australia Inc
Directory of Affiliations, 2016
Retrieved 24 April 2017.

Gallery

Murray Bridge in 1912.jpg, Murray Bridge in 1912. Murray Bridge road and rail bridges.JPG, The Murray Bridge road (left, 1879) and rail (right, 1924) bridges over the

. MurrayBridge3.JPG, The 1879 road bridge. Murray Bridge racetrack.jpg, Grandstand at the Murray Bridge Racetrack. File:Murray Bridge - railway bridge & over flats in 2021.jpg, Rail bridge over flats

Notable residents

* Danielle Catanzariti * Bryn Coudraye *

Jacqui Delaney Jacqui Delaney is a former Australia netball international. Between 1997 and 2002 she made 21 senior appearances for Australia. Delaney was a member of the Australia teams that won the gold medals at the 1999 World Netball Championships and th ...

Paul Berryman Paul Michael Berryman is an Australian musician who played drums for alternative rockers, the Superjesus (1994–2004, 2013–16), and Faker (2003–08). Nathan Hudson of Faker explained why Berryman had replaced founding drummer Andrew Day, ...

* Ben Dougall *

Donald Dunstan (governor) Lieutenant general (Australia), Lieutenant General Sir Donald Beaumont Dunstan (18 February 1923 – 15 October 2011) was an Australian Army officer who was Governor of South Australia from 23 April 1982 until 5 February 1991. A career of ...

* Stephen Edward Foster *

David Gulpilil David Dhalatnghu Gulpilil (1 July 1953 – 29 November 2021), known professionally as David Gulpilil and posthumously (at his family's request, to avoid naming the dead) as David Dalaithngu for three days, was an Indigenous Australian actor ...

actor, d. 2021 *

Jo Hill Joanne Kay Hill (born 19 June 1973) is a former Australian women's basketball player. Biography Hill played for the Australia women's national basketball team during the late 1990s and early 2000s, and competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics in ...

James McRae James McRae (born 27 June 1987) is an Australian former representative rower. He is a national champion, world champion, three time Olympian, Olympic medallist and record holder. In the Australian men's quad scull he won a silver medal at the ...

Simon Overland Simon James Overland (born 19 March 1962)
2 March 2009, www.premier.vic.gov.au is the for ...

Clement Semmler Clement Semmler OBE, AM (23 December 1914 – 10 August 2000), often referred to as Clem Semmler, was an Australian author, literary critic, broadcaster and radio and television executive. Early life and education Semmler was born Clement Wil ...

* James Smith *

Ben Wilden Ben Wilden (born 24 April 1985 in Murray Bridge, South Australia) is an Australian trampoline gymnast. He is a former national champion in trampoline sports and represented Australia at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing as the country's so ...

Chad Wingard Chad Jordan Wingard (born 29 July 1993) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted to Port Adelaide with the sixth selection in the 2011 AFL Draf ...

Peter O'Brien (actor) Peter O'Brien is an Australian actor, best known for his role as an original cast member in 1985 of Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'' as Shane Ramsay. Career O'Brien played a regular role in short-lived soap opera ''Starting Out ''(1983), ...

Alby Mangels Zwier Albertus "Alby" Mangels (born 16 November 1948) is an Australian adventurer and documentary film-maker widely remembered for his ''World Safari'' adventure travel films (''World Safari'', ''World Safari II'', and ''World Safari III''). E ...

Alex Bolt Alex Bolt (born 5 January 1993) is an inactive Australian professional tennis player. His career-high ranking is World No. 125 in singles and World No. 81 in doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Highlights of Bolt's career ...

* Deadly Nannas (Ngarrindjeri singers)

References

External links

Rural City of Murray Bridge

Australian Bureau of Statistics - Murray Bridge

Big Stories, Small Towns
Online documentary featuring video, digital stories and photo essays about Murray Bridge
The Murray Valley Standard
- local news {{Authority control Towns in South Australia Cities in South Australia Bridges in South Australia Bridges completed in 1879 Bridges completed in 1927 Road-rail bridges Populated places on the Murray River Australian soldier settlements 1924 establishments in Australia Populated places established in 1924