Explore Thornlea, South Australia, Australia, with this interactive street and satellite map. You can “grab” the Thornlea, SA map and move it around to re-centre it. You can change between standard map view and satellite map view by clicking the small square in the bottom left-hand corner of the map. You can use the zoom buttons on the lower right side of the map to zoom in or out to street-level detail.
This page also offers TOPO MAPS — Geoscience Australia topographic mapping and the classic NATMAP 1:250 000 sheets — plus a labelled MGA grid overlay, a distance and bearing tool, and a GPS grid-reference readout. See How to Use This Map below. You will find live weather, local and world news further down the page.
This interactive map shows the street layout and satellite imagery for Thornlea, South Australia, Australia. Use the Map and Satellite buttons above to switch between street map and aerial imagery views. Use the + and − buttons to zoom in or out, or scroll your mouse wheel while holding the Control key to zoom. On a touchscreen, use a two-finger pinch gesture to zoom in and out.
Click ⛶ Fullscreen to expand the map to fill your screen for a larger view. To return to the normal page view, press the Escape key on your keyboard, click the ✕ Exit Fullscreen button that appears above the map, or on a mobile device tap the back button (Android) or the close icon (iOS).
Drag the map to pan to any area of South Australia or beyond. Switch to Satellite view to see high-resolution aerial photography of Thornlea and surrounding areas, including streets, buildings, parks and waterways.
TOPO MAPS — NEW. Click the green 🔍 Search Maps button below the map to open a second map with a Base map row offering three choices. OSM is the standard OpenStreetMap street map. Topo shows the Geoscience Australia National Base Map — seamless topographic mapping covering the mainland, Tasmania and the external territories. NATMAP 250K shows the classic NATMAP 1:250 000 map sheets, mosaicked nationwide — the printed sheets generations of Australians navigated the outback with. The search box finds any Australian town, suburb or landmark by name, so you are not limited to Thornlea.
Reading the map like a paper sheet. Click Grid to overlay the Map Grid of Australia (MGA), labelled along the edges exactly as a printed topographic sheet is — at normal zoom the squares are one kilometre across, so you can read a six-figure grid reference by eye and judge distance directly off the map. Click Measure, then tap two points, to get the distance between them together with the grid bearing in degrees and mils, the true bearing, and the magnetic bearing to set on a compass.
Click 📍 My position to take a single GPS reading from your device. It marks where you are and reports your position as an MGA grid reference as well as plain latitude and longitude — the grid reference being what emergency services and search and rescue work from — with a Copy position button so you can paste it straight into a text message. It takes one reading and stops, rather than tracking continuously, to conserve your battery. Note that map tiles need mobile coverage, but a GPS reading does not — your coordinates stay correct even where the map itself cannot load, which across much of inland Australia is most of the time.
Map search is available for a limited number of queries per session to manage costs. Be specific — search precisely for best results.
| Locality | Thornlea |
| State | South Australia (SA) |
| Local Government Area | Wattle Range Council |
| Country | Australia |
| Timezone | Australian Central Time (ACST/ACDT) |
| Remoteness | Outer Regional Australia |
| Latitude | -37.42334 |
| Longitude | 140.18767 |
| Population | 36 |
| Density | 0.3 /km² |
| Area | 117.7 km² |
| Elevation | 15 m |
| Postcode | 5280 |
| Area Code | 08 |
| Distance to Adelaide | 312 km south-southeast |
Thornlea is a locality in the Wattle Range Council local government area of South Australia, Australia. It is a small community with a population of 36. The locality covers an area of 117.7 km², giving a population density of about 0.3 people per km². It sits at an elevation of around 15 m above sea level. It lies approximately 312 km south-southeast of Adelaide. Thornlea is located at 37.4233°S, 140.1877°E. It observes Australian Central Time (ACST/ACDT). Postcode: 5280. The Australian Bureau of Statistics classifies the area as Outer Regional Australia.
Thornlea lies in the rolling country of the Wattle Range Council, a place where the land breathes in broad, unhurried sighs of green and gold. It lies 68.9 km north-west of Mount Gambier, SA (from Mount Gambier, SA: bearing 310°T), and is situated 23.7 km north-north-west of Millicent. The terrain here is a gentle, undulating expanse, softened by the ever-present scent of salt carried on the breeze from the nearby coast, a constant reminder of the ocean's proximity. Mallee scrub, tough and resilient, fringes the cleared pastures, their wiry branches catching the sunlight in a thousand glinting points, while scattered stands of eucalyptus offer a cooler, darker refuge, their leaves whispering secrets in the wind. The air itself feels clean and sharp, carrying the faint, earthy aroma of turned soil and the distant, sweet promise of ripening fruit.
The history of Thornlea is as deeply rooted as the ancient gums that dot its landscape, shaped by the early pastoralists who saw potential in these fertile, coastal plains. Sheep grazing was once the undisputed king, their wool a significant contributor to the local economy, and the legacy of those days can still be seen in the weathered stone of old shearing sheds and the wide, open paddocks that stretch to the horizon. While agriculture remains a vital thread, the character of Thornlea has broadened; orchards now bloom with apple and pear trees, their blossoms a fleeting, fragrant blush in spring, and the quiet hum of small businesses provides a steady pulse to the community. Travellers often remark on the unpretentious friendliness of Thornlea's residents, a trait perhaps born from generations of working closely with the land and with each other, fostering a sense of shared endeavour and quiet resilience.
Sources: curated tourist landmarks, CAPAD 2024 (Australian protected areas), OpenStreetMap.
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This page provides a street and satellite map of Thornlea, South Australia. Live weather conditions with current observations and a 7-day forecast are powered by Open-Meteo. Real-time local news and world news feeds keep the page current, while an editorially written description provides background on Thornlea, in the Wattle Range Council local government area.
Detailed location data for Thornlea includes the postcode (5280), telephone area code (08), and local government area (Wattle Range Council), with an ABS remoteness classification of Outer Regional Australia. These are among the most commonly searched location details for any Australian city, town or locality.
Search Maps opens a second, independent map. It searches OpenStreetMap for any Australian town, suburb or landmark by name; offers Geoscience Australia topographic mapping and the classic NATMAP 1:250 000 sheets as base layers; overlays a labelled Map Grid of Australia (MGA) so the map can be read like a printed topographic sheet; measures distance and grid, true and magnetic bearings between any two points; and takes a single GPS fix reporting your position as an MGA grid reference and as latitude and longitude. Map tiles require mobile coverage, but a GPS position does not, so the coordinates remain correct even where the map cannot load.
Location data is drawn from Geoscape Administrative Boundaries (GDA2020) and enriched with GeoNames and Australian Bureau of Statistics data, matched by coordinate proximity — ensuring the correct Thornlea is identified even where the name is shared across multiple localities.
| Page generated | September 2026 |
| Location data | Geoscape Administrative Boundaries (GDA2020); enriched with GeoNames and ABS 2021 Census data, matched by coordinate proximity |
| Map layers | Google Maps; © OpenStreetMap contributors; © Geoscience Australia National Base Map and NATMAP 1:250 000 (CC BY 4.0); magnetic declination from NOAA NCEI (World Magnetic Model) |
| Description | Editorial description generated with AI assistance from verified Geoscape, ABS and GeoNames location data. |