Thirlmere Rail Transport Museum

Thirlmere
Home of the famous Thirlmere Rail Heritage Centre
Thirlmere is located 75 km south-west of Sydney and 171 m above sea-level in the foothills of the southern highlands. With the rerouting of the Hume Highway the town has become a quiet centre on the south-western edge of Sydney's suburban sprawl.

Once occupied by the Gundungura and Tharawal Aborigines, the first Europeans to investigate the area were the party of ex-convict John Wilson who passed through in 1798. They had been sent by Governor Hunter to accumulate data about the southlands to discourage convicts who were escaping and heading south in the belief that China was only 150 miles away.

There was already a very small European presence to the north around present-day Camden, consisting of stockmen sent to tend the cattle on the Cowpastures, although all other settlement of that area had been forbidden in order to ensure the development of the herd (see entry on Camden for further information on the Cowpastures).

By 1819 Governor Macquarie had authorised the construction of a road through to the Goulburn Plains. The first land grant in the area was 'Stargard', a gift to Christian Carl Ludwig Rumker, Governor Brisbane's astronomer, in honour of his rediscovery of Encke's Comet. Nearby Major Henry Antill established a 2000-acre property in 1822 which he first named 'Wilton', subsequently renaming it 'Jarvisfield' after Jane Jarvis, the wife of his friend, Governor Macquarie.

The railway arrived in 1863 and a settlement developed around the station.

Things to see:  

Thirlmere
One of the great attractions of the district is the Rail Transport Museum in Barbour Rd at Thirlmere. The oldest and largest such museum in the country it features 60 locomotives (steam, diesel and electric) and 100 carriages, including a No 18 built in 1864 and a huge 260-tonne Garratt No 6040 built in 1956. It is open 9.30 a.m. - 4.00 p.m. Monday to Friday and 9.00 a.m. - 5.00 p.m. on weekends, tel: (02) 4681 8001. There are picnic and barbecue facilities and every Sunday there are rides to Buxton along the disused single-track Picton-Mittagong Loop Line which was built in 1867 when the railway first came through the area. This was the railway line which opened up the whole of the Southern Highlands. The construction of a new double track after World War I meant that the Picton-Thirlmere-Buxton Loop was by-passed. It operated as a local line until 1976 when it was closed down. Craft markets are held at Buxton on the third Sunday of each month.

Thirlmere is located 7 km south-west of Picton. Turn off Argyle St into Thirlmere Way at the southern end of Picton. A Festival of Steam is held every March. Thirlmere Memorial Park in Oaks St has picnic, barbecue and play facilities. A little further along Oaks St crosses Matthews Creek and becomes Oaks Rd. Lin Gordon Reserve is to your right. There you will find a car park, barbecue facilities and a bushwalk.

Thirlmere Lakes National Park

Thirlmere Lakes National Park
While in the area the Thirlmere Lakes National Park is well worth a visit. These five interconnected freshwater lakes are unusual in the Sydney region. It is the lakes which provided the inspiration for the town's name - Thirlmere being a lake in Cumberland, England. These lagoons are ideal for swimming and canoeing. Barbecue and picnic facilities have been developed on the shorelines of two lakes and there is a boat ramp. The eucalypt forests make for some pleasant bushwalking and there are waterfowl aplenty. From Thirlmere cross the railway, turn left and proceed south-west on the Thirlmere-Buxton Rd (Barbour Rd) and turn off either into Slades Rd (2 km south of Thirlmere) or take the next road to the right (4 km south), just after the Couridjah Station and Couridjah Rd (to the right). This second road will take you to Middleton Memorial Drive which bisects the park. At its end is a 16-km return walk through the Nattai wilderness to Little River, a lovely swimming hole near Buxton. For those who think a 16-km walk is too arduous, the swimming area can be accessed by driving to the quarry at the end of Boundary Rd at Buxton and parking your car. From there it is about a 1-km walk to the river. Cross over the waterway and follow the old farm road to the right.

Tours and Adventures
If you head south-east to Wilton, at the intersection with the F5 freeway is the drop zone of the Sydney Skydiving Centre, tel: 1800-805 997.

There are a number of tour operators who cover the area. Scenic flights are available from Curtis Aviation (02-4655 6789) and Macarthur Air Experience (02-4655 8844), 4WD tours from One Man and a Dog (018-222 149), adventure packages from Australian Extreme Team (02-4677 3133), motorbike tours from Harley Tours (02-4631 1261), transit services for bushwalkers and mountain bike riders from NSW Wilderness Transit Services (02-4681 9094), bushwalking tours from Rockreation (02-4782 6224) and tour guides from Liz Vincent - Picton Historic Tours and Picton Ghost Hunts - (02-4677 2044) or Wollindilly Heritage Tours (02-4657 1439).

The Picton Show is held in October and the country markets on the fourth Saturday of each month in Menangle Rd.