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Plans for a giant new playscape are set to have the littlest members of the Murray Bridge community swimming in fun, adventure and culture.
Soon, the sounds of children racing across climbing structures, flying down giant slides and exploring dreamtime stories will fill Murray Bridge’s riverfront, with a new playscape preparing to take shape as part of the larger Sturt Reserve Master Plan.
Supporting nature-based play rooted in the rich cultural heritage of the Ngarrindjeri community, the Pondi Playscape has been co-designed to be more than a playground. It will be a place where imagination runs wild and adventure, play and cultural storytelling intersect in one shared riverfront experience.
“It’s how I think reconciliation should be done, a happy process sharing play and learning a story how the Ngarrindjeri people want it told,” says Murray Bridge Mayor, Wayne Thorley.
The beating heart of the design is the Ngarrindjeri Dreaming story of Pondi, the Murray Cod said to have carved out the River Murray. Rather than simply reading the story, children will be able to scramble across Pondi’s body, climb structures reaching up to six metres high and slide down the giant cod’s tail.
Complete with flying foxes, swings, sand, slides, trampolines and accessible play equipment, the Pondi Playscape is designed to turn one of the region’s most significant cultural stories into an adventure children can explore for themselves.
“This will amplify not only the importance of Ngarrindjeri culture but activity for our younger generation.”
But this experience isn’t only for the little ones. With peaceful picnic and barbecue areas, fresh drinking fountains and beautiful public artworks, the space invites the wider community to create memories and stay a while.
“We see this as being not only a new play area for our community but also for the broader South Australian community… it’s a shared opportunity to create a really great outcome for everybody.”
Mayor Thorley says not only will the fully-funded playground revamp be three times bigger than the current playground, but it will support curiosity and positivity in the wider community for decades to come.
With construction expected to begin within the next four months, Murray Bridge families won’t have to wait much longer before they can climb, slide and step inside the story of Pondi for themselves.
When: TBD
Where: Sturt Reserve, Murray Bridge
To find out more, visit the Murray Bridge council website.
