Founded in 2008, the Thornlie Living History Group is a small group of volunteers who are passionate about researching and recording the history of the Thornlie suburb and its people.

Through its network of contacts with local people the group has collected thousands of pages of information, including the stories of people who moved to the first houses built in the area in the 1950s, photographs, house plans and designs, even the original brochures. This material is now available in Thornlie Library and in the Local History Collection at the Knowledge Centre in Gosnells.

The group has also conducted numerous oral history interviews of people involved with the early years of the suburb's development. Read the fascinating transcript of an interview with Nelly Maarssen, listen to part of an interview with Annette Clifton, or see the full list of what's available by searching the library catalogue for "oral history kits". The transcripts and matching audio recordings are available for loan from the City's Local History Collection and Thornlie Library.

For more information on the collection and what it contains, a heritage paper on the collection is available.

The Thornlie Living History Group is always looking for volunteers interested in joining them to research and collate information on the history of the Thornlie suburb. If you would like to join the group, or if you have information on the history of Thornlie that you would like to share, please contact the group’s leader Mrs Pat Morris 9459 2014.

To get you started, a life history memory prompt is available.

The image on this page is of the Thornlie swimming pool in 1988.