🏗️ Growth

Work on $8.3m play space at Sturt Reserve will begin within months

The Pondi nature play space will be a “world-class” family destination themed after a Ngarrindjeri legend.

Peri Strathearn

16 Jun 2026 — 4 min read

A giant Murray cod will sit at the heart of a new nature play space to be built at Sturt Reserve. Image: Rural City of Murray Bridge.

Construction of an $8.3 million nature play space on Murray Bridge’s riverfront will begin within months following a funding deal between the city’s council and the federal government.

The Pondi play space will be an iconic drawcard for local and visiting families alike, themed around the cod who shaped the course of the River Murray according to Ngarrindjeri legend.

As well as a climbing and play structure shaped like a giant cod, the play space will feature:

a flying fox
swings
slides
a trampoline
sand and water play areas
accessible play equipment for children with disability

Around the play equipment will be shade structures, sheltered seating, barbecues, bins, drinking fountains and lighting, plus more unusual features like an “outdoor classroom” and bunyip-themed soundscape installation.

The whole area will be newly landscaped, with more trees, shrubs and pathways.

The existing, boat-themed playground and its roof – more than 20 years old, and damaged during the 2022-23 floods – will be removed to make way for it all.

Tenders for the demolition and construction work will be let in the coming months, with the goal of having work start before the end of 2026.

James Rothe, Anthony Chisholm, Marielle Smith, Janice Walker and Wayne Thorley announce a commitment to the playground in 2025. Photo: Peri Strathearn.

The federal government will put $4.85 million towards the project, fulfilling a promise made by Labor in the lead-up to last year’s election.

The Murray Bridge council will provide $3.45 million worth of funding it has already saved up since that promise was made, meaning there will be no extra impact on its 2026-27 budget or ratepayers’ bills.

Mayor Wayne Thorley said the transformation of Sturt Reserve’s “worn out” playground into a something locals could be proud of had been overdue.

“Not only will it become the place that local families meet and children play, but this design considers all ages, connects us to our Ngarrindjeri culture and makes a statement about how much we value our iconic riverfront precinct,” he said.

“Reserve and riverfront upgrades like this help us bring more people to Murray Bridge as well, supporting our goals for growth in the tourism economy.”

A generation of children have grown up since the current Sturt Reserve playground was built. Photo: Peri Strathearn.

It was important that the role of the Ngarrindjeri people as traditional custodians of the area would be recognised in such a big way, Ngarrindjeri Ruwe Empowered Communities CEO Margi Sumner said.

“From the outset, this project has been guided by Ngarrindjeri elders and community members to ensure that the cultural stories, design elements and interpretation of Pondi are respectful, authentic and true to Ngarrindjeri culture, knowledge and connection to country,” she said.

“This project demonstrates what can be achieved when local government and First Nations people work together from the beginning of the process.

“The co-design approach adopted by the Rural City of Murray Bridge has enabled genuine partnership, shared learning and mutual respect throughout the development of this significant community asset.”

Senator Marielle Smith said the investment was about providing “world-class infrastructure” in a growing, thriving community.

A council master plan, completed before the design for the new play space was finalised, calls for further improvements in years to come. Image: Rural City of Murray Bridge.

Sturt Reserve redevelopment is now nine years in

The play space will be the biggest step forward in years for the council’s long-term vision of a revitalised riverfront, kick-started under former Mayor Brenton Lewis in 2017.

Since then, the council and its funding partners have built a new war memorial, rowing centre, a memorial to the 1924 Murray Cods, shelters and landscaping, and had upgraded the lower wharf.

Future work may eventually include a river swimming pool, according to the council’s master plan for the area.

But the play space had been envisioned as the heart of the redevelopment all along.

Riffing on a story central to Ngarrindjeri tradition, then, would be appropriate.

In the Ngarrindjeri legend, Pondi the giant cod carved out the course of Moorundi, the River Murray, as it thrashed its tail while fleeing a hunter named Ngurunderi.

Ngurunderi threw a spear at Pondi as he passed through the area where Murray Bridge has since been built; it missed and became Lenteilin, or Long Island.

The story is told in a mosaic outside the Murray Bridge council office.