Township Masterplans

From background reviews, site visits, initial consultations, the Mid Murray’s community benefit and tourism potential will stem from a connected network of townships, river places, trails, dark-sky sites, heritage assets, and facilities that enhance liveability and strengthen the visitor journey.

Key themes include health and wellbeing, a welcoming public realm, environmental stewardship, tourism value, cultural connection, active lifestyles and township upgrades.

  • Link towns, attractions and landscapes into a coherent tourism and community network
  • Improve wayfinding, trailheads, shared paths, heritage loops, river access, ferry arrival signage, and links between town centres, reserves and major attractions
  • Promote and encourage longer visitor stays, easier movement, stronger local business capture, and improved everyday walkability for residents.
  • Reinforce each township’s identity as legible, distinctive and welcoming through improvements to entry statements, upgraded main streets, public art, heritage interpretation, town-centre greening, improved signage and better presentation of civic buildings and reserves
  • Generate a stronger sense of place, greater community ride, better visitor first impressions,
  • Nurture community and local confidence for private investment
  • Parks, ovals, riverfront reserves and community halls are the backbone of both wellbeing and visitor experience
  • The provision of playspaces, sportsgrounds, toilets, seating, shade, picnic areas, campgrounds, caravan/RV areas and accessible facilities are critical infrastructure for the region
  • Mary Ann Reserve, Morgan Wharf, town ovals and memorial halls provide opportunities for multi-purpose open space and community assets
  • Develop healthier and more inclusive communities, stronger family-friendly tourism, more local activation and events, and increased year-round use of community assets
  • Tourism and community growth must be matched by environmental stewardship
  • Resilient design, erosion control, revegetation, riverbank management, reduced hard surfaces, stormwater upgrades, water sensitive design responses, and shade planting are important responses
  • Embed safer settlements, lower long-term asset risk, healthier landscapes, better thermal comfort, and a tourism offer that remains viable under climate change and future flood events
  • Tap into Mid Murray’s diversity — river, heritage, dark sky, geology, trails, culture, camping and township character
  • Strengthen river tourism, houseboat and mooring infrastructure, dark-sky nodes, heritage walks, cultural interpretation, scenic drives, camping and nature-based experiences
  • Grow a broader and more resilient visitor economy, reduced dependence on single attractions or peak-season trade, and better alignment between tourism development and community benefit

Township Roadshows

Save the date and register now!

Members of the project team and Council will be running a series of consultations and feedback sessions, as part of the Mid Murray Tourism Precinct Planning Project. The aim of the sessions is to present key findings, test ideas and strategic directions, and gain valuable insights from each local community in the region.

In preparation for the consultation sessions, please save the following dates and locations. Sessions will be focused on the townships in the region and potential tourism opportunities.

Thursday 18 June 2026

Cambrai Hall - 10am to 12noon

Truro Oval Complex - 3pm to 5pm

Friday 26 June 2026

Swan Reach Town Hall - 10am to 12noon

Blanchetown District Hall - 3pm to 5pm

Saturday 27 June 2026

Morgan Activity Centre - 11am to 1pm

Saturday 4 July 2026

Mannum Senior Citizens Room - 10am to 12noon

Palmer Hall – Collier Park - 3pm to 5pm

Each session will run for two hours in each location and will include presentations, information posters, and feedback forms through which you can share your ideas. We also want your thoughts on key outcomes for the River Corridor, Mannum Waterfalls and the Dark Sky Experience.

Members of the project team and Council will be there to answer questions, receive ideas, and provide feedback.

So come along to the sessions to:

  • Share your ideas
  • Tell us what's important to you
  • Help shape the plan.

If you can't make it to a session, information on how to provide online feedback will be released soon.


How to register

To register please click here. Registration is free and provides assistance with session set up.


How to get involved

Your voice matters. This project belongs to the Mid Murray Community. Your stories, knowledge, and aspirations will guide every step of this journey. The project team looks forward to working together to create something meaningful and lasting.

Should you wish to be kept informed around the project and the community engagement activity, please register your interest at postbox@mid-murray.sa.gov.au.

Main Page

Tourism contributes significantly to the Murraylands and Riverland region’s economy, accounting for $201M in visitor economy benefits and employing 1,400 locals (SATC 2022). Since the Murray River Flood 2022/23, much of Council’s river infrastructure and tourism assets have been significantly damaged.

Council is committed to rebuilding their economy through tourism infrastructure that will increase productivity and contribute to the overall sustainability and resilience of the Council area and broader region.

Council has received funding towards this project as part of the Australian Government's $400 million Regional Precincts and Partnerships Program (rPPP) designed to strengthen the sustainability, capacity and diversity of Australia’s cities and regions, including through facilitating local partnerships between all levels of government and local communities; through investment in infrastructure and measures that stimulate economic growth.

The rPPP supports both precinct development proposals and the delivery of construction-ready precinct projects.

Council’s aim is to identify tourism assets and create a precinct plan connecting towns and key assets in the Council district.

Deliverables

Key documents developed from this project will include:

Cultural Mapping Assessment Report – identification, recording, and preservation of the cultural assets, traditions, and historical elements that contribute to the identity and significance of the Mid Murray district and broader region.

River Corridor Tourism Masterplan – focussing on river tourism assets/opportunities around short-term mooring space for rivercraft and associated facilities to promote river traffic.

Township Masterplan – development of township precinct masterplans (urban design framework) to provide direction on future asset and infrastructure investment by Council and the community into the visual improvement of open space and public realm in the townships.

Mannum Waterfalls Masterplan - to optimise the recreational and tourism potential of the waterfalls.

Dark-Sky Astro-tourism – undertake the development of a business case for the development of an Observatory/Planetarium within the Dark Sky Reserve.

The project is to be developed and delivered by March 2027.

Consultant Appointment

Following a successful tender process, WAX Design and TRC Tourism have been appointed to lead the project alongside a number of highly skilled sub-consultants. Their combined expertise will be instrumental in shaping a vibrant tourism precinct, and Council looks forward to collaborating closely to deliver lasting benefits for the region.

How to get involved

Your voice matters. This project belongs to the Mid Murray Community. Your stories, knowledge, and aspirations will guide every step of this journey. The project team looks forward to working together to create something meaningful and lasting.

Should you wish to be kept informed around the project and the community engagement activity, please register your interest at postbox@mid-murray.sa.gov.au.