Thornlie

Thornlie Perth, Western Australia
Thornlie Square shopping centre
Thornlie
Coordinates	32°03′29″S 115°57′29″E / 32.058°S 115.958°E / -32.058; 115.958Coordinates: 32°03′29″S 115°57′29″E / 32.058°S 115.958°E / -32.058; 115.958
Population	22,965 (2011 census)
• Density	1,980/km2 (5,128/sq mi)
Established	1956
Postcode(s)	6108
Area	11.6 km2 (4.5 sq mi)
Location	18 km (11 mi) SSE of Perth CBD
LGA(s)	City of Gosnells
State electorate(s)	Gosnells, Cannington, Southern River
Federal Division(s)	Burt
Suburbs around Thornlie: Langford Kenwick Maddington Parkwood Thornlie Gosnells Canning Vale Southern River Huntingdale

Thornlie is a large outer suburb of Perth, located 18 kilometres south-east of the city's central business district. It is part of the City of Gosnells local government area. The Canning River runs through the northern side of the suburb. Since the 1950s the suburb has developed in approximately five stages; north-east Thornlie (1950s-60s), south Thornlie (1970s-80s), Crestwood (1970s), Castle Glen (1980s) and Forest Lakes (1990s).

Captain Peter Pegus was the original settler of the area now known as Thornlie, which he had called "Coleraine" when granted the land in 1829.Prior to this the area would have been used by the indigenous Noongar population. In 1834 his premises and belongings were burned in a fire that was to prove the end of his settlement.

The name Thornlie was derived from a farm "Thornlie Park", established in 1884 by Frank and Amy James, Amy being a niece of Walter Padbury who financed the property.

The James family subsequently sold the estate, which had been a productive dairy farm, in 1937 to the mine-manager and investor, Nat Harper. When Harper died in 1954, the 694-hectare (1,715-acre) Thornlie estate was put up for auction in two lots. 92 hectares (228 acres) of Lot 1 were purchased by D. and M. O'Sullivan and by June 1956 the Gosnells Roads Board had provided approval for the development of the area. By March 1957, forty houses had been completed and by May 1958 there were 100 occupied homes. Thornlie thus as a residential suburb was established in the late 1950s as a housing estate aimed mainly at middle-income earners and inner city dwellers.

The first homes in the area included a section of residences constructed in the 1950s and early 1960s which lie to the north of the intersection of Thornlie Avenue and Spencer Road, and residences lying to the south of Thornlie Avenue between Spencer Road and the Canning River which were constructed in the 1960s and 1970s. During this time Thornlie development focus was on a getting out of town. It was aimed at inner city dwellers who might want to live in a more spacious semi-urban rural setting. It is one reason why Thornlie has typically large 1,000 m² (¹⁄₄ acre) blocks and is often described as one of Perth's leafy suburbs.