Thirlmere, New South Wales

Thirlmere New South Wales
Eastern entrance to township, 2011
Thirlmere
Coordinates	34°12′S 150°34′E / 34.200°S 150.567°E / -34.200; 150.567Coordinates: 34°12′S 150°34′E / 34.200°S 150.567°E / -34.200; 150.567
Population	3,530 (2011 census)
Postcode(s)	2572
Elevation	300 m (984 ft)
Location	89 km (55 mi) SW of Sydney 210 km (130 mi) N of Canberra 51 km (32 mi) NW of Wollongong
LGA(s)	Wollondilly Shire
Region	Macarthur
State electorate(s)	Wollondilly
Federal Division(s)	Hume
Localities around Thirlmere: Mobray Park Picton Lakesland Thirlmere Tahmoor Thirlmere Lakes National Park Buxton Couridjah

Thirlmere is a small semi-rural town in the Macarthur Region of New South Wales, Australia, in Wollondilly Shire. Popularly known for its railway origins, the town is located 89 km south west of Sydney (about a 60-minute drive), one third of the distance from Sydney to Canberra. At the 2011 census, Thirlmere had a population of 3,530 people.

Thirlmere was previously known as Village of Thirlmere and was originally named after Lake Thirlmere in England.

The Thirlmere area was first discovered by the British in 1798, whose attention was focussed more on the Thirlmere Lakes area and finding an alternate route north towards Bathurst.

Thirlmere boomed with the creation of the Great Southern Railway in 1863 to 1867, when the area was blanketed in tents to house the many railway workers that came to the area to work. Thirlmere was valued mostly for the proximity of the Thirlmere Lakes (then called Picton Lakes) which were used to provide water for the steam trains. During this period Thirlmere was also the home for a number of timber mills, whose main product was the milling of sleepers for the railway line.

The Thirlmere section of the Main Southern Railway was deviated in 1919 to a less steep alignment with easier grades, and the original line became the Picton Loop Line. This transformed the village from a hive of steam train activity to a quiet farming region, mainly supplying the surrounding villages with foods and goods.

Many Estonian immigrants settled in Thirlmere from 1924 onwards, especially after the Second World War when tens of thousand had fled to avoid being sent to Siberia for alleged political and economic crimes. Estonians are largely responsible for the development of the successful poultry industry, which at one stage was the largest egg producer in the state and still provides the great majority of NSW's poultry produce. Many of the younger generations of Estonians have left the area and moved closer to the city but other original immigrants and newcomers live there still in Australia's only Estonian Retirement Village.