Thiele Reserve needs a fix, residents say
Bob Neindorf and his waterskiing team have called on the Murray Bridge council to make the east side reserve safer to use after a series of accidents.
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A riverfront reserve on Murray Bridge’s east side is dangerous and needs to be fixed up, residents say.
Life-long resident Bob Neindorf approached Murray Bridge’s councillors at a meeting on Monday night to say that enough was enough.
People had hurt themselves after slipping on the sandbags laid along the shore at Thiele Reserve, he said, including one bloke who had broken his back; and a boat had sunk after striking rocks there.
Other problems included snakes living in the sandbags and fish hooks caught in them, unbeknownst to barefoot swimmers.
“The sandbags and rocks are unsightly, user-unfriendly and downright dangerous,” he said.
“The beach front needs urgent repair.”
The council last gave the reserve an expensive upgrade – quote unquote – in 2019 to try and prevent erosion along the shoreline.
However, it became apparent almost immediately that it was not fit for purpose.
At the time, one waterskier described it as “literally the worst thing I have ever seen done to a perfect ski beach in my time alive”.
The council took a different approach to redevelopments of Avoca Dell Reserve and Sturt Reserve after that, but never returned to fix up Thiele Reserve.
“I’ve attempted to work constructively and respectfully with council employees for four or five years,” Mr Neindorf said.
“They have been understanding, but have not been able to bring the matter to a head.
“The repair of Thiele Reserve needs to be prioritised.”
What should be done to fix Thiele Reserve?
Based on the approaches taken in Mildura and other River Murray towns, Mr Neindorf suggested several possible solutions to Thiele Reserve’s problems:
- Use one or two 15-metre sections of riverfront to test a new approach
- Rearrange the sandbags and cover them with a synthetic mesh to allow for a gentler slope down to the river
- Consider installing a low retaining wall further back from the water’s edge, to prevent erosion during times of high flow while allowing a lawned or sandy beach to form along the river
- Consider sheet piling the area where houseboats moored
- Consider placing a floating pontoon alongside the boat ramp, like the one at Avoca Dell
He even had local engineer Leo Enter draw up a rough plan for a redone riverfront, with sandbags covered with sand and Enviromesh.
He also advised the council to make use of a 200-metre stretch of land immediately downstream of the reserve which he had donated to the council 15 years ago.
While it was currently overgrown, it could easily be turned into an extension of the ski beach.
Councillors were receptive to his ideas, but stopped short of endorsing any particular course of action at Monday night’s meeting.
Time will tell whether Mr Neindorf gets his wish to take a ski run off the reserve for his 80th birthday next year.
