Guide to Tahmoor New South Wales Australia

Tahmoor is the largest town in the Wollondilly Shire, six kilometres south of Picton and about 90 kilometres from Sydney. It is a practical, modern place where the district does its shopping, but it has an early colonial inn, a river gorge on its doorstep and easy access to the rail museum at Thirlmere.

Known For

• The service centre of Wollondilly
• Walks in the Bargo River gorge
• A cycleway to Thirlmere and the rail museum

The town lies along the old Hume Highway, with a shopping centre, the railway station and housing estates on either side. A colliery on the southern edge has been mining coal for steelmaking since the 1970s. To the east, the Bargo River has cut a deep gorge through the sandstone.

Things To Do in Tahmoor

Bargo River Gorge

From the Rockford Road bridge, a walking track heads downstream along the Bargo River past rock platforms and pools known as the Potholes to lookouts over Tahmoor Gorge and Mermaids Pool. The full circuit takes about three hours and is steep and rough in parts. Stay well back from cliff edges.

Tahmoor House

This long, low sandstone building beside the old highway was built in the 1820s as an inn for travellers on the Great South Road, and it is the oldest building in the shire. It is privately owned but can be seen from the road.

Cycle to Thirlmere

A sealed shared path runs from Tahmoor to Thirlmere, a flat ride of about four kilometres that ends near the NSW Rail Museum.

Around the District

Picton, with its viaduct and heritage streets, is ten minutes north, and the wildlife sanctuaries and dams around Bargo are ten minutes south.

Where To Stay

Tahmoor has a motel and rooms at its hotel.

There are also farm stays in the surrounding countryside and more choice at Picton.

Eat & Drink

The shopping centre and main road have cafes, bakeries, takeaways and several restaurants, and the Tahmoor Inn has a bistro and beer garden.

History

The district is on the country of the Dharawal and Gundungurra people, and the name is said to come from an Aboriginal word for the bronzewing pigeon. The settlement went by several names, including Myrtle Creek, before Tahmoor was adopted with the opening of the railway station in 1919. Orchards and poultry farms were the main industries until coal mining and commuter housing took over.

Getting to Tahmoor

Take the Hume Motorway south and exit at Picton or Bargo, about an hour and twenty minutes from central Sydney. Trains on the Southern Highlands line stop at Tahmoor station.