2025 in review: Local stories that made our year

It has been a challenging and exciting year in the Murraylands: a drought year, but one in which locals notched up a few major wins, too.

Murray Bridge News has published 872 stories this year, and about a third of them were exclusive to us – without this publication, they wouldn’t have been told anywhere.

Thanks, as ever, to the subscribers and advertisers who make that possible.

Here are the top 100 storylines that started conversations around our region in 2025.

January

8 – The first of five stobie pole mosaics is completed in Murray Bridge.

13 – The Murray Bridge council reveals that its residents will all get new wheelie bins; the roll-out would prove a little confusing to residents.

14 – Murray Bridge building company JAC Homes collapses.

24 – Former Murray Bridge and Karoonda mayor Allan Arbon dies at the age of 87.

26 – Tailem Bend’s Peter Squires is awarded an OAM on Australia Day. Courtney Blacker is named Murray Bridge’s citizen of the year, while Raelene Varga wins the honour at Tailem Bend. A young woman is seriously injured after being hit by a speedboat in the River Murray at Mannum.

28 – Murray Bridge councillors approve a plan to rehabilitate the former Riverscape Restaurant.

29 – The state government announces it will invest $10 million rebuilding Fraser Park Primary School after years of problems with its old buildings.

31 – Tailem Bend’s Station Master’s House reopens under the care of the town’s community centre.

February

6 – Ex-AFL star Tyson Edwards settles in as coach of Tailem Bend in the RMFL. Bowhill Engineering opens a really, really big new workshop.

8 – Staff and students, past and present, celebrate the centenary of St Joseph’s School in Murray Bridge.

9 – Parishioners celebrate the centenary of the foundation stone being laid at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, a week ahead of the same milestone being marked at Zion Lutheran Church.

10 – Murray Bridge’s councillors vote not to build a controversial east side sewer system.

14 – Unity College’s class of 2025 dresses up for its year 12 formal.

18 – Bow-maker Ashton “Snoopy” Ralston uses his unique skillset to raise funds for his brothers in arms in Ukraine. Work starts on South Australia’s biggest battery, the Summerfield project, at Tepko.

20 – The Martino family begins offering free meals in Murray Bridge every week through its Van of Hope.

25 – Ride-sharing services such as Uber are allowed to begin operating in the Murraylands for the first time, despite protests from the taxi industry.

26 – Travel website Wotif names Murray Bridge one of its top 10 towns to visit in 2025.

March

5 – Murray Bridge’s council proposes a change to its rating policy which would leave most homeowners paying more, and which residents slam as “Robin Hood in reverse”; the idea would be abandoned in April. Meanwhile, Olympic swimmer Kyle Chalmers visits Murray Bridge Swimming Centre for a workshop.

6 – Police call off a search for missing Mypolonga man Steven Bailey after spending almost a week combing through Ngarkat Conservation Park.

11 – Murray Bridge High School’s class of 2025 celebrates its formal.

12 – Gymnastics coach Jemma Tilley is recognised as South Australia’s inaugural Power of Her champion of change.

13 – Aerobatic pilot Chris Sperou shares his life story in Murraylands Life magazine.

21 – A screening of the film Kick Off Ya Boots highlights the importance of wellbeing during a stressful, drought-affected year for farmers.

22 – Murray Bridge are crowned Lower Murray bowls premiers.

23 – The PS Daisy becomes South Australia’s oldest paddlesteamer when young captain Luke Carpenter brings her to a new home at Mannum.

26 – The Swanport Bridge will be duplicated and a freight bypass will be built around Murray Bridge, the federal government announces in its budget; the state government would later commit funding of its own.

April

1 – The Murray Bridge council promises to build port-a-loos on every street corner on the east side … er, hmm, maybe we’d better go back and check the date on that one.

2 – Murray Bridge is revealed as Australia’s top-performing property market since the COVID-19 pandemic.

8 – Entrepreneur Kelly Johnson wins South Australia’s Agrifutures Rural Women’s Award.

15 – Danny and Tina Squires take over from Danny’s father Peter at Old Tailem Town.

23 – Murray Bridge News turns five.

26 – Mypolonga Football Club debuts a commemorative guernsey for the River Murray Football League’s new Anzac Round.

29 – The Coorong council proposes an eye-watering property rates bill increase in its budget for 2025-26. The Murray Bridge council would propose a 4.8% rise, while the Mid Murray district would reduce their increase to 3.84% following public feedback.

30 – State MP Nick McBride vows to continue in the role despite having been charged with assaulting his wife.

May

3 – Federal MP Tony Pasin is re-elected for the fourth time, after a campaign in which the cost of living was the top concern for Murraylands voters; he would end up being moved onto the opposition’s back bench. Labor’s national win ensures a $4.8 million play space will be built at Sturt Reserve.

14 – A zoning change which will allow more farmland around Murray Bridge to be turned into housing is approved by the state government.

25 – An exhausted Kai Martin finishes an almost non-stop, 324-kilometre fundraising run from Clare to Murray Bridge which wound up raising more than $65,000 for efforts to prevent domestic violence. The last service is held at Callington’s St Peter’s Lutheran Church after 161 years.

27 – The newly built Monarto Safari Resort opens.

June

3 – A film shoot begins at Riverglades, possibly in connection with a horror film being shot at Callington during the same week.

4 – The Murraylands Medical Centre at Tailem Bend announces its near-immediate closure, but is soon saved following an intervention by state Health Minister Chris Picton. Murray Bridge’s Seth Puddy wins gold at the Karate Australia national championships.

5 – The Murray Bridge branch of Soroptimist International calls it quits due to declining membership.

6 – Murray Bridge Mayor Wayne Thorley and council CEO Heather Barclay accompany three business leaders on a trip to China which proves deeply unpopular among ratepayers.

9 – Doctor Peter Rischbieth AM, St John volunteer David Heard OAM and driving instructor Peter Sawley OAM are included on the King’s Birthday honours list.

11 – Murray Bridge News appoints Zhen Pu as its new Mannum correspondent.

12 – World-renowned sculptor Greg Johns shares his story in the winter edition of Murraylands Life magazine.

16 – In a first for local government in South Australia, the Coorong council declares a drought in the district and offers relief to affected ratepayers.

19 – The inaugural Murraylands Business Awards are held.

26 – A Callington company announces it has distilled what is believed to be the first batch of agave spirit wholly produced in SA.

29 – A fire guts the Lincoln Park Horse and Human Rehabilitation Centre at Monarto.

July

2 – Iconic ice cream manufacturer Golden North announces it will move its operations from Laura to Murray Bridge, sparking excitement locally … and a frustrating headline in The Advertiser which would lead to head-scratching about the city’s reputation. Director Dimi Kyriazis would share more info about the move at a business breakfast in October.

5 – The first ordination of Buddhist monks is conducted at the Bodhipala Monastery, in the hills above Mannum.

7 – Retail workers at Mannum and Tailem Bend share in a $5.5 million settlement offered by Eudunda Farmers after legal action by the sector’s union.

13 – Locals rally around Bryson Chamings, an 18-month-old fighting cancer.

14 – The Coorong Environmental Trust launches a four-point plan to save the ecosystem in the face of an algal bloom and other issues.

25 – In a major coup, Tailem Bend Community Centre is appointed to provide community transport services across 15 regional local government areas.

30 – Three hundred delegates from across Australia gather at a national conference in Murray Bridge that will help determine the future of the Murray-Darling Basin.

August

7 – The lower section of Murray Bridge’s wharf reopens after a repair job.

9 – The MEC Black Swans become the first regionally based club to win NRL SA’s minor premiership; tragically, they would go on to lose a grand final only days after the death of club matriarch Dawn Matthews.

13 – A Jervois man dies in a workplace accident at Pompoota.

15 – Mannum Dairy Adventures’ Narelle Zanker is named young farmer of the year at the SA Dairy Awards.

19 – Twenty-one-year-old Kiara McKelliff, or Allen, dies after a car accident at Mobilong.

20 – A prominent Tailem Bend home is destroyed by fire, prompting its owner to reflect on the town’s history.

22 – Aboriginal health service Moorundi opens a multi-million-dollar clinic in Murray Bridge, the culmination of 23 years of work by the Ngarrindjeri community.

September

5 – Murray Bridge’s Dave Brown is named SA’s police officer of the year.

10 – Meat processing company Thomas Foods International agrees to new licence conditions at its Lagoon Road, Murray Bridge facility after neighbours complain about the smell.

11 – State MP Adrian Pederick lobbies for the reopening of helipads at Murray Bridge and Mannum’s hospitals. Unfailingly cheerful radio veteran Adam Connelly shares a few tales in the spring edition of Murraylands Life magazine.

13 – The Mallee Storm win the River Murray netball grand final for the second straight year.

14 – A monument to the Murraylands’ Italian migrants is installed in Murray Bridge. Monarto teenager Judd Plaisted wins the national Mini GP championship.

17 – Two Murray Bridge smoke shops are ordered to close for 28 days, eight months after being raided by Consumer and Business Services as part of a crackdown on black market tobacco.

20 – The Coorong Cats go back-to-back as RMFL premiers.

21 – Bridge City Church celebrates its 50th anniversary.

25 – The Mid Murray council announces a controversial review of its heritage riverboats.

27 – New lights are switched on at Callington Oval; Mannum and Mypolonga would get their own during the year, too.

October

9 – Two Murray Bridge landmarks are demolished: the old grandstand at the former Murray Bridge Racing Club and some shops on the corner of Owl Drive.

16 – A battery energy storage system is completed at Mannum, one of several installed in the Murraylands during the year.

21 – The Coorong council gives its final approval to an expensive scheme that will deliver mains water to Wellington East for the first time. Entrepreneur Yasmin Jammoul launches a line of activewear for Muslim women.

23 – Rower Victoria Seidel is named among the winners at the Murray Bridge Sports Awards.

24 – The 30th anniversary of Mypolonga’s school shop is celebrated with a book launch.

November

6 – Bulk billing returns to GP clinics around the Murraylands, and the Murray Bridge hospital’s emergency department, as the result of extra federal funding for Medicare.

13 – Murray Bridge’s rail bridge turns 100.

15 – A Murray Bridge woman receives a phone call from billionaire Adrian Portelli, telling her she has won a $3.5 million house … without realising she was ineligible to win it. He would later give her $100,000 as a consolation.

19 – Eight Murraylands schools are affected by a national recall of sand contaminated by asbestos.

21 – Tailem Bend Lions Club members are shocked after $500 worth of Christmas cakes are stolen.

25 – The Murray Bridge council announces its sale of the Lerwin Nursing Home to private operator Roshana Care Group.

27 – Harvest begins in the Murraylands and Mallee after a miserably dry year in most parts.

December

4 – Basketballer Ally Wilson graces the cover of Murraylands Life magazine after a year in which she was named a WNBL all-star, league life member and Asia Cup MVP and debuted for the Opals.

5 – Young author Simon Goodridge is named one of two local award winners on the International Day of People with Disability.

8 – Plans for a community battery in Murray Bridge, which will reduce power bills for low-income households, are announced.

14 – A toy run is held at the Bend Motorsport Park for the first time, carrying on the spirit of a fundraising event which ran to Callington for many years.

17 – Tailem Bend business RP Cutters partners with iconic match brand Redheads on a collectible piece of merchandise.

18 – Journalist Liana Webster finishes up with Murray Bridge News.

Thanks for your support in 2025. Murray Bridge News will return in 2026.