Murray Bridge South Australia |
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Main street of Murray Bridge
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Coordinates | 35°07′01″S 139°16′01″E / 35.117°S 139.267°ECoordinates: 35°07′01″S 139°16′01″E / 35.117°S 139.267°E | ||||||||||||||
Population | 17,921 (2015) | ||||||||||||||
• Density | 183.81/km2 (476.05/sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
Established | 1924 | ||||||||||||||
Postcode(s) | 5253 | ||||||||||||||
Area | 97.5 km2 (37.6 sq mi) (2011 urban) | ||||||||||||||
Time zone | ACST (UTC+9:30) | ||||||||||||||
• Summer (DST) | ACDT (UTC+10:30) | ||||||||||||||
Location | 76 km (47 mi) ESE of Adelaide | ||||||||||||||
LGA(s) | Rural City of Murray Bridge | ||||||||||||||
State electorate(s) | Hammond | ||||||||||||||
Federal Division(s) | Barker | ||||||||||||||
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Murray Bridge (formerly Mobilong and Edwards Crossing) is a city in the Australian state of South Australia, located 76 kilometres (47 mi) east-southeast of the state's capital city, Adelaide, and 77 kilometres (48 mi) north of the town of Meningie. The city has an estimated urban population of 17,921 at June 2015. making the city the fifth most populous urban area in the state, after Adelaide, Mount Gambier, Victor Harbour - Goolwa and Whyalla.
The city was originally known as Mobilong and later as Edwards Crossing, before being renamed as Murray Bridge in 1924; deriving its name from the road and railway crossings over the Murray River. The city is situated on the Princes Highway, the main road transport link between Adelaide and Melbourne.
The city services a farming area including dairy, pigs, chickens, cereal crops and vegetables (including "stay crisp lettuces").
Murray Bridge is in the traditional lands of the Ngarrindjeri people, who refer to Murray Bridge as Pomberuk. The first European explorer was Charles Sturt who camped there on 8 February 1830.
The first road bridge across the lower Murray was known as The Murray Bridge and completed at Edwards's Crossing in 1879. 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 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) rail track gauge though in actuality, only 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) gauge trains ever used it.