Murray Bridge. Old railway building in the Murray Bridge railway yards seen from the Murray River.
Murray Bridge – the government town. Formerly Edwards Crossing and then Mobilong.
The first recorded white person to visit this area was Captain Charles Sturt on his epic voyage down and up the Murray in 1830/31. He passed through this place on February 8 1831. The original inhabitants the Ngarlta people, a subgroup for the Ngarrindjeri people, used the river for fish, shellfish, game, birds and bark from the giant River Red gums along the banks. The bark was used for canoes. The reeds along the banks provided fibre for mats, baskets and even shelters. The first white settler of the area was George Edwards on a property he called Coninka. As the river was suitable for a stock crossing here his spot became known as Edwards Crossing. Once plans were approved for the railway to Melbourne the government commissioned the building of a bridge here. Work began in 1874 after a quotation for a bridge at Edwards Crossing came in at half the cost of a bridge at Wellington. The bridge took six years to construct and at least one worker died during construction. It was a major engineering feat and the first bridge to span the mighty Murray anywhere in Australia. It is nearly 2,000 feet long (600 metres) and is on the register of the National Estate.
A residence was also constructed for the overseer of this project and it is known as the Round House, built between 1874-76. It has a six sided roof and it is the most historic house in Murray Bridge but additions carried out by the railways in 1917/18 to make the house larger destroyed its “round appearance.” The Superintendents of the southern railway system lived in this house which is just across from the Bridge railway station. From the front veranda of the Round House you get wonderful views of the Murray and the two bridges.
The river became the life blood of the town. After Captain Randall of Goolwa won the government sponsored race along the Murray in 1854 the riverboat trade began. Paddle steamers shipped supplies up the Murray and the Darling deep into New South Wales taking everything from pianos and jam to fencing supplies and flour. On the return trips the steamers bought the wool clip down from the western NSW stations and QLD. Customs duties were payable at the SA border or in Murray Bridge and this was a lucrative trade for SA. The heyday of the river trade for Murray Bridge was the 1890s to 1910. Although Murray Bridge was a major SA river port, the closest river port to Adelaide was Milang and much of the Lower Murray trade passed through that town. Despite the government building the railway to Morgan on the upper Murray in 1878 to tap the river trade from there, Murray Bridge still had an important river boat trade from the opening of its wharf in 1886 until 1930. It continued after that date but mainly for the carrying of milk to the cheese factory in Murray Bridge. Some goods were also offloaded from the trains after they reached the town in 1886. The Intercolonial Express started running between Adelaide and Melbourne in 1887 being the first rail link between any two Australian capitals. In 1925 a separate rail bridge was opened across the Murray so that the trains and vehicles would not have to share the 1880 bridge. The 1925 bridge has two curved spans and one flat topped span. The story goes that the spans were mixed up with those for another bridge across the Murray at Echuca but that is not so as the 1925 bridge was manufactured in SA. The eastern span has a different design because it is so long and that design was needed to maintain the strength of the span.
The township was laid out in 1883 and named Mobilong although formerly that area was known as Edwards Crossing. Not long after the name Mobilong was changed back to Edwards Crossing and finally it was changed to Murray Bridge in 1925. The township prospered because of its agricultural hinterland, the river boat trade along the Murray and the transport facilities and rail operations. The town soon had large flour mills, a butter factory and numerous stores including an early Eudunda Farmers Store (store number six) which opened in this very German town in 1904. Before 1900 a horse racing club was also formed in the town which still holds regular race meetings. The first race meeting was held in 1890 in the paddocks below Mr Jaensch’ dairy but the Murray Bridge Club was not officially registered until 1899. Most people travelled from Adelaide by train for the race meetings. The early meetings were held near the railway station but the track was moved to its current site in 1913. Its next move to a new location is now imminent. The Rural City of Murray Bridge signed an agreement in 2010 to move the race track south of the current freeway in a $35 million development with a new housing estate of 3,500 new blocks of land for 10,000 new residents in Murray Bridge. The current race track will be then be redeveloped for parks, and possibly a little housing too. Former Crows players Mark Ricciuto and Simon Goodwin are among the investors in this scheme.
Today Murray Bridge has a population of around 19,000 people and it is the third largest rural city in SA after Mt Gambier and Whyalla. Demographic projections identify it as becoming the largest rural city within a few years and that it will achieve a population of more than 30,000 by 2025. Its recent growth has been boosted by settlers from the Sudan, and employment at the Mobilong prison and Woolworth’s major SA warehouse near Monarto. Turkish, Dinka (the Sudan) and Tagalog (the Philippines) are now major languages spoken at home by new arrivals to the city. Major employers are T & R Abattoirs (800 people); Big W Warehouse (400); Big River Pork Abattoir (150); Mobilong Jail (120); United Dairy Powder Cheese Factory (80); and Bridge Press (50). The Rural City of Murray Bridge employs a further 260 people.
The Great Eastern Road was extended to Edwards Crossing on the Murray by the early 1870s when work began on the bridge across the Murray. Once the Highways Department was formed in 1926 with the advent of motorised transport a move was made to bituminise the road to Murray Bridge. This began in 1930. Then in 1952 a far sighted state government began work on a dual highway between Glen Osmond and Crafers. This was not completed until 1961 but prior to this the government had passed a bill in 1960 to build a freeway through the Adelaide Hills all the way to Murray Bridge. The first section between Crafers and Verdun opened in 1969 with it finally reaching Murray Bridge in 1979 after completion of the new Swanport Bridge across the Murray. The dual carriageway was continued to Tailem Bend.
Murray Bridge. Old railway building in the Murray Bridge railway yards seen from the Murray River.
Murray Bridge – the government town. Formerly Edwards Crossing and then Mobilong.
The first recorded white person to visit this area was Captain Charles Sturt on his epic voyage down and up the Murray in 1830/31. He passed through this place on February 8 1831. The original inhabitants the Ngarlta people, a subgroup for the Ngarrindjeri people, used the river for fish, shellfish, game, birds and bark from the giant River Red gums along the banks. The bark was used for canoes. The reeds along the banks provided fibre for mats, baskets and even shelters. The first white settler of the area was George Edwards on a property he called Coninka. As the river was suitable for a stock crossing here his spot became known as Edwards Crossing. Once plans were approved for the railway to Melbourne the government commissioned the building of a bridge here. Work began in 1874 after a quotation for a bridge at Edwards Crossing came in at half the cost of a bridge at Wellington. The bridge took six years to construct and at least one worker died during construction. It was a major engineering feat and the first bridge to span the mighty Murray anywhere in Australia. It is nearly 2,000 feet long (600 metres) and is on the register of the National Estate.
A residence was also constructed for the overseer of this project and it is known as the Round House, built between 1874-76. It has a six sided roof and it is the most historic house in Murray Bridge but additions carried out by the railways in 1917/18 to make the house larger destroyed its “round appearance.” The Superintendents of the southern railway system lived in this house which is just across from the Bridge railway station. From the front veranda of the Round House you get wonderful views of the Murray and the two bridges.
The river became the life blood of the town. After Captain Randall of Goolwa won the government sponsored race along the Murray in 1854 the riverboat trade began. Paddle steamers shipped supplies up the Murray and the Darling deep into New South Wales taking everything from pianos and jam to fencing supplies and flour. On the return trips the steamers bought the wool clip down from the western NSW stations and QLD. Customs duties were payable at the SA border or in Murray Bridge and this was a lucrative trade for SA. The heyday of the river trade for Murray Bridge was the 1890s to 1910. Although Murray Bridge was a major SA river port, the closest river port to Adelaide was Milang and much of the Lower Murray trade passed through that town. Despite the government building the railway to Morgan on the upper Murray in 1878 to tap the river trade from there, Murray Bridge still had an important river boat trade from the opening of its wharf in 1886 until 1930. It continued after that date but mainly for the carrying of milk to the cheese factory in Murray Bridge. Some goods were also offloaded from the trains after they reached the town in 1886. The Intercolonial Express started running between Adelaide and Melbourne in 1887 being the first rail link between any two Australian capitals. In 1925 a separate rail bridge was opened across the Murray so that the trains and vehicles would not have to share the 1880 bridge. The 1925 bridge has two curved spans and one flat topped span. The story goes that the spans were mixed up with those for another bridge across the Murray at Echuca but that is not so as the 1925 bridge was manufactured in SA. The eastern span has a different design because it is so long and that design was needed to maintain the strength of the span.
The township was laid out in 1883 and named Mobilong although formerly that area was known as Edwards Crossing. Not long after the name Mobilong was changed back to Edwards Crossing and finally it was changed to Murray Bridge in 1925. The township prospered because of its agricultural hinterland, the river boat trade along the Murray and the transport facilities and rail operations. The town soon had large flour mills, a butter factory and numerous stores including an early Eudunda Farmers Store (store number six) which opened in this very German town in 1904. Before 1900 a horse racing club was also formed in the town which still holds regular race meetings. The first race meeting was held in 1890 in the paddocks below Mr Jaensch’ dairy but the Murray Bridge Club was not officially registered until 1899. Most people travelled from Adelaide by train for the race meetings. The early meetings were held near the railway station but the track was moved to its current site in 1913. Its next move to a new location is now imminent. The Rural City of Murray Bridge signed an agreement in 2010 to move the race track south of the current freeway in a $35 million development with a new housing estate of 3,500 new blocks of land for 10,000 new residents in Murray Bridge. The current race track will be then be redeveloped for parks, and possibly a little housing too. Former Crows players Mark Ricciuto and Simon Goodwin are among the investors in this scheme.
Today Murray Bridge has a population of around 19,000 people and it is the third largest rural city in SA after Mt Gambier and Whyalla. Demographic projections identify it as becoming the largest rural city within a few years and that it will achieve a population of more than 30,000 by 2025. Its recent growth has been boosted by settlers from the Sudan, and employment at the Mobilong prison and Woolworth’s major SA warehouse near Monarto. Turkish, Dinka (the Sudan) and Tagalog (the Philippines) are now major languages spoken at home by new arrivals to the city. Major employers are T & R Abattoirs (800 people); Big W Warehouse (400); Big River Pork Abattoir (150); Mobilong Jail (120); United Dairy Powder Cheese Factory (80); and Bridge Press (50). The Rural City of Murray Bridge employs a further 260 people.
The Great Eastern Road was extended to Edwards Crossing on the Murray by the early 1870s when work began on the bridge across the Murray. Once the Highways Department was formed in 1926 with the advent of motorised transport a move was made to bituminise the road to Murray Bridge. This began in 1930. Then in 1952 a far sighted state government began work on a dual highway between Glen Osmond and Crafers. This was not completed until 1961 but prior to this the government had passed a bill in 1960 to build a freeway through the Adelaide Hills all the way to Murray Bridge. The first section between Crafers and Verdun opened in 1969 with it finally reaching Murray Bridge in 1979 after completion of the new Swanport Bridge across the Murray. The dual carriageway was continued to Tailem Bend.