Tharwa, Australian Capital Territory
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Tharwa Australian Capital Territory |
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Looking south-east, towards the Murrumbidgee River, on North Street in Tharwa.
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 Tharwa
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| Coordinates | 35°31′0″S 149°04′0″E / 35.51667°S 149.06667°ECoordinates: 35°31′0″S 149°04′0″E / 35.51667°S 149.06667°E |
| Population | 109 (2006 census) |
| Established | 1862 |
| Postcode(s) | 2620 |
| Location | 32 km (20 mi) S of Canberra |
| Territory electorate(s) | Brindabella |
| Federal Division(s) | Canberra |
Tharwa (postcode 2620) is a small village within the Australian Capital Territory, 35 kilometres (22 mi) south of Canberra, the capital city of Australia. At the 2006 census, Tharwa had a population of 109.
The village is located on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River and at the junction of Tidbinbilla and Naas Roads, and Tharwa Drive. The main public buildings are a general store, a preschool and primary school (now closed), Saint Edmund's Anglican Church, a cemetery, a community hall and tennis courts. The annual Tharwa Fair was hosted by the school, and was held in May until 2006. The Tharwa Fair is now organised by Tharwa Preschool.
Tharwa is the oldest official settlement in the Australian Capital Territory, proclaimed a settlement in 1862. Tharwa was named after the Aboriginal word for Mount Tennent, a nearby mountain peak which is part of Namadgi National Park. Mount Tennent was named after John Tennant, who was one of the earliest and best-known bushrangers in the region. Tennant lived in a hideout on the mountain behind Tharwa from which he raided local homesteads 1827–1828, before being arrested and transported to Norfolk Island.
Tharwa Bridge, opened on 27 March 1895, crosses the Murrumbidgee River. Tharwa Primary School was opened soon after, in 1899. The Tharwa township narrowly avoided being burnt in the 2003 Canberra bushfires. The Tharwa community is currently facing two further challenges: closures and repairs to Tharwa Bridge due to extensive rot in its supporting timbers discovered in 2005 and the 2006-07 Australian Capital Territory budget announcement of its plans to close the Tharwa preschool and primary school at the end of 2006.
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