The Pomberuk Aboriginal Cultural Centre: In the Riverland region of South Australia

Fly over Lake Albert and Lake Alexandrina and the great expanse of the Coorong - or "kurangk" in the Ngarrindjeri language - and you can't help but be impressed by the dramatic completion of the River Murray's long journey to the sea.

It remains a very sacred landscape for the local indigenous people who've lived in harmony with the amazing South Coast environment for thousands of years. The story of Murray's long and meandering course to the Southern Ocean is told at what was once the home of the Murray Bridge Pumping Station. It's now the Pomberuk Aboriginal Cultural Centre and when you enter with guide Kevin Kropinyeri, you encounter, Ngurunderi - an ancestral being, whose battle with the Murray Cod created the Ngarrindjeri world.

"This is Ngurunderi and the Murray Cod is called Ponde in our language," explained Kevin.

The paintings by well known Ngarrindjeri artist Jacob Stengle take us back to a time when mighty forces were at work as Ngurunderi, chasing his two wives, encountered Ponde. In the mad rush to spear the great fish Australia's mightiest river was formed.

"He had nowhere to swim," said Kevin. "So he went ploughing and crashing through the bush making the creek into the mighty Murray River. On and on he ploughed making bends and cliffs with his mighty tail."

The Ngurunderi Dreaming is just one feature of the Pomberuk experience as many of the exhibits give a hands-on appreciation of Ngarrindjeri life.

The various photos and illustrations give some idea of how the Ngarrindjeri lived along stretches of the river and the rich and diverse habitats of the lower lakes and Coorong. For men, the days were spent hunting or fishing while the women went armed with baskets in search of other bush tucker.

When tucker was plentiful, life must have seemed good, but there was always the prospect of others encroaching on local territory - a dangerous move given the Ngarrindjeri fearsome reputation.

From spears for polling with your bark canoe on the Murray to others used in ceremonial punishments the collection has the lot. There's also a host of photos of the Ngarrindjeri people who've played their part in other battles.

But Pomberuk is also very much about the future and in what was once the office of the old Pump Station the community taps into and enhances other traditions of the past.

"We also have emu egg carvings - a traditional technique from the indigenous people of this area. But we've also added a contemporary design onto the egg so we're evolving or emerging the two cultures together."

At the end of your tour make sure you visit the Centre's gift shop and restaurant - there are their stunning views of the Murray, which has sustained the Ngarrindjeri for generations.

The Pomberuk Aboriginal Cultural Centre is at 1 Wharf Road. It's perched just beneath the town's main road bridge.

Pomberuk Aboriginal Cultural Centre
1 Wharf Road
Murray Bridge
Beneath the Murray Bridge Road Bridge