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Brenton Lewis, Tony Pasin and Adrian Pederick celebrate the completion of the first stage of Murray Bridge’s riverfront redevelopment. Photo: Peri Strathearn.

After five years of work, the first stage of Murray Bridge’s riverfront redevelopment is now complete.

Invited guests gathered beneath a newly built shelter at Sturt Reserve on Wednesday to celebrate the progress made since the $34 million project was envisioned in 2017.

In that time, the city has gained:

A new war memorial
A regional rowing centre
A memorial to the Murray Cods, rowers at the 1924 Olympic Games
New paths, landscaping and visitor facilities

This shelter was the last part of Sturt Reserve’s recreation precinct to be completed. Photo: Rural City of Murray Bridge.

The so-called recreation precinct was always intended to be the first of four stages of improvements at Sturt Reserve.

Work on stage two – focused on history and tourism – will start next month.

Better docking facilities for tourist boats, a shelter for their passengers and acknowledgment of the area’s Ngarrindjeri past are expected by the end of 2023.

Over the longer term, there will be a nature play space, a river swimming pool and other major improvements.

But right now, Mayor Brenton Lewis said, it was worth pausing to recognise what had been achieved so far.

Sturt Reserve Master Plan

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“As the first council in 2014, in the first four-year period (of my term as mayor), a lot of my colleagues ... they had vision,” he said.

“It was their vision, Sturt Reserve renewal, and they've stuck to it like a rock.”

Those years of planning were now paying off, he suggested.

MP Tony Pasin noted that the federal government had invested almost $6 million of taxpayers’ money into the project over the past five years, including $1.5 million announced last week.

A map showing the council’s final vision for Sturt Reserve, including a play precinct, a riverfront swimming pool and a revitalised wharf area. Image: Rural City of Murray Bridge.

“Every community needs a ... focal point,” he said.

“Sturt Reserve is Murray Bridge’s – it’s your town square.

“This will be an iconic facility, not just for Murray Bridge or the Murraylands, but for all of South Australia.”

Mr Lewis joked that the park could just about be called Pasin Park for all the funding the MP had brought to the table.

Read more: New Sturt Reserve plan calls for riverfront swimming pool

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Sturt Reserve redevelopment’s first stage is…