Murray Bridge is one of the few Australian towns named after a bridge (and not a very original name for a bridge at that). This service town is the gateway to the Fleurieu Peninsula or the south east region of South Australia, depending on which way you are travelling.

Where is it?: Murray Riverlands. Murray Bridge is 80 km south east of Adelaide via the South eastern Freeway.

Murray Bridge Visitor Information Centre
3 South Tce
Murray Bridge SA 5253
Telephone: (08) 8539 1142

It is appropriate that the town is named after a bridge (or pair of them) as the two bridges across the Murray River, one carrying the Princes Highway and the other the main railway line between Melbourne and Adelaide, are very distinctive and often photographed features.

The city has a rich motor racing history. Established in 1958, Riverview Speedway is one of Australia's premier country dirt track ovals regularly hosting Australian title meetings in most racing categories including bikes and cars. Murray Bridge is also known for its basketball. Having won numerous State Country Championships and many of its young players going on to represent South Australia in the Nationals Competition.

The Captain's Cottage Museum: Located on Thomas St (south of the main highway through town) this cottage was built for Captain Johnson in 1890. It has been carefully restored and features interesting displays of memorabilia, photos and machinery from the local area. It is open Weekends and Public Holidays 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. More details are available from (08) 8531 0049.

Monarto Zoological Park: Located north-west of Murray Bridge on the Princes Hwy this 1000 hectare open-range zoo utilises the local grassland and mallee scrub and has herds of bison, ostrich, eland, zebra, deer, giraffe, wild horses and blackbucks roaming free. Many species of animals can roam this park. Tourists have the opportunity to take a Safari Bus around the park with a personal guide.

Puzzle Park: A large Puzzle Park, including a 4 km maze, which is located off South Eastern Freeway. It is open 7 days a week from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.

Paddlesteamers

Explore the vast and natural beauty that is our River Murray. Cruising 7 days a week. The Captain Proud Paddle Boat boasts a fully decked out period styled dining area and bar. Enjoy a fine meal and a drink to wash it down with as you cruise slowly past majestic scenery. Experience the wildlife of the River Murray in all its untamed natural beauty.

Cruise past towering cliffs of rock and sandstone, and other wonderful scenery as you take in the fresh air on the deck outside the dining room. Learn of the wonderful history of the area as you relax in comfort with friends, loved ones, or business partners. We will deliver a unique experience that will be both fun and memorable.

Captain Proud was originally built as the Proud Lady and worked as one of the original showboats on the Port River. In 1993 the vessel entered the River Murray from the sea at the Murray mouth near Goolwa and traveled to Echuca. The Captain Proud has now returned to Murray Bridge where it used to trade since 1995. Wharf Road Murray Bridge, South Australia 5253. Phone: 0466 304 092

About Murray Bridge

Prior to European settlement the area was inhabited by the Ngarrindjeri Aborigines. The river provided abundant food and they lived well off a diet of kangaroos, emus, wombats, goannas, lizards, ducks, turtles, fish, snakes and bird eggs.

The first European into the area was Captain Charles Sturt who, being assigned to solve the great mystery of why so many rivers flowed westward from the Great Dividing Range (often known as the question of whether Australia had an 'inland sea') rowed a whale boat down the Murrumbidgee in late 1829 and reached the junction with the Murray River on 14 January 1830. He continued down Australia's largest river passing Murray Bridge in early February and reaching Lake Alexandrina, at the mouth of the river, on 9 February, 1830.

From this point onwards there was always the thought that the Murray River could be used for transportation and access to the western areas of New South Wales and Queensland. However it wasn't until the formal establishment of Goolwa as the port at the mouth of the Murray in the 1850s that this became a reality.

Murray Bridge was established when a road bridge over the Murray River (which is how the town got its name) was completed in 1879. It was followed in 1886 by the Adelaide-Melbourne railway line which guaranteed that the town's importance as a vital link across the river was assured. The town was laid out in 1883 and was called Mobilong. The land was sold in Adelaide in 1884 under the advertisement 'Murray traders, woolwashers, builders and all men of enterprise. Give heed to what is now offered to you.' Later it was called Edwards Crossing but it became Murray Bridge when a new railway bridge was constructed across the river in 1924.

The town's most recent Swanport Bridge, which was built five kilometres downstream from Murray Bridge, was completed in 1979. Today the town is the centre of a major agricultural district which is driven by dairying, chicken raising, pig breeding, tomato and snow pea growing.