Murray Bridge, South Australia.html



Murray Bridge South Australia
Location of Murray Bridge in South Australia (red
Population:	18,364 2006 Census
Established:	1924
Postcode:	5253 1
Time zone:  • Summer (DST)	ACST (UTC+9:30) ACDT (UTC+10:30)
Location:	80 km (50 mi) East of Adelaide via
LGA:	Rural City of Murray Bridge
State District:	Hammond
Federal Division:	Barker

The Murray Bridge that crosses the Murray

Driving across the bridge

Murray Bridge (post code: 5253) is the fourth most populous city in South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier and Whyalla. It is approximately 80 kilometres (50 mi) southeast of Adelaide and 1 hour drive north of Meningie.

The city services a farming area including dairy, pigs, chickens, cereal crops and vegetables (including "stay crisp lettuces"). It is where the Princes Highway crosses the Murray River on the main road and rail routes from Adelaide to Melbourne.

History

Murray Bridge is in the traditional lands of the Ngarrindjeri people. The first European explorer was Charles Sturt who camped here on 8 February 1830.

The first road bridge across the lower Murray was completed here in 1879 and has a 40 km/h (~25 mph) speed limit. The bridge also became a shared road and rail bridge in 1886 until the separate rail bridge was completed in 1925².

The Swanport Bridge was completed 5 kilometres (3 mi) downstream in 1979, removing most through traffic from the historic bridge. The city was originally known as Mobilong, then Edwards Crossing before finally becoming Murray Bridge in 1924.

Residents

According to the 2006 Census the population of the Murray Bridge census area was 18,364 people. Approximately 49.66% (9,120) of the population were female and, 50.34% (9,244) were male. 10.7% were born overseas, and only 4.4% were indigenous people.

Occupations of employed persons include: Managerial 13.8%; Professional 8.6%; Technical & Trade 13.6%; Community Service 9.5%; Clerical & Administrative 11.1% Sales & Marketing 9.6%; Machinery Operators & Drivers 7.3%; Labourers 25%; Other 1.5%. The most popular industries for employment were Meat and Meat Products (10.7%), School Education (4.4%) and Retail Trade (3.6%), while the unemployment rate is approx. 7.1%.

The median weekly household income is AUD$639 or more per week, compared with $924 in Adelaide. 13.3% of the population identify themselves as Lutheran, while a higher 24.7% identify with no religion at all. ³

Sport and recreation

In 1924 the Murray Bridge rowing 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 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 (2km) course. The story of their fundraising and exploits in Paris are detailed on the Australian Rowing History website [2].

Murray Bridge is also home to the River Murray Football League, which plays Australian rules football. The league consists of the Murray Bridge based clubs of Ramblers and Imperials and the district teams of Mypolonga, Mannum, Tailem Bend, Jervois and Meningie.

In 2005 the city's golf course, 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). The home team, through the heroics of leading local juniors Constantine Papaevagelou and Craig McCulloch, went undefeated and qualified for the state final, losing narrowly. The team had not previously experienced such success; junior golf in the region has since obtained a higher profile.

Another sporting association in Murray Bridge is the Murray Bridge Amature 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. However the long term future of the club is uncertain due to ongoing battles with the local council over pool opening times and high pool usage fees.

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.

Politics

State & Federal

Murray Bridge is part of the state electoral district of Hammond, which has been held since 2006 by Liberal MP Adrian Pederick. The seat is held by a margin of 24%. In federal politics, the city is part of the division of Barker, and has been represented by Liberal MP Patrick Secker since 1998. Barker is held with a margin of 19.10% and is considered safe-liberal. The results shown are from the largest polling station in Murray Bridge — which is located at Murray Bridge High School, on Lohmann Street.

Local

The Rural City of Murray Bridge contains the city of Murray Bridge and suburbs: White Hill, Gifford Hill, Swanport, Long Flat, Riverglades, Avoca Dell, Willowbanks, SunnySide, Northern Heights, Rocky Gully, Mobilong and Monarto.

Other Facts

Local Schools include Murray Bridge Primary & Junior Primary, Murray Bridge South Primary, Fraser Park Primary, St Joseph's Primary, Murray Bridge High, Murray Bridge Christian College and Unity College.

Murray Bridge is the birthplace of the Savory Slice which is basiclly a flat meat pie but with melted cheese and bacon on top. They are only available in Murray Bridge, Mannum, Tailem Bend, Jervois and Mypolonga

Sister Cities

Murray Bridge has two sister cities, according to the Australian Sister Cities Association.

• Laredo, United States of America ⁶
• Sanmenxia, China

References

1. ^ Murray Bridge Postcode. Australia Post. Retrieved on 2008-05-29
2. ^ The Road Bridge over the River Murray at Murray Bridge Thompson, M.H. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, September, 1976 pp189-196
3. ^ [1]
4. ^ SA 2006 election results and outcomes (PDF), (a) P.14 (d) P.13, State Electoral Office, South Australia, 2006. Retrieved on 25 June 2008.
5. ^ Murray Bridge South Polling Booth, Division of Barker, House of Representatives Division First Preferences, 2007 Federal Election. Retrieved on 25 June 2008.
6. ^ Sister Cities International. Retrieved on 2008-05-29

External links

• Rural City of Murray Bridge
• Australian Bureau of Statistics - Murray Bridge

Coordinates: 35°07′01″S 139°16′01″E / -35.117, 139.267