The family friendly bridging suburb between Newcastle and Maitland, Thornton offers schools, a train station, a shopping village, churches, parks, and sporting facilities. As Newcastle prices itself out of many family budgets, more Novocastrians are making Thornton their new home. Easy access to Newcastle CBD by way of the 25km drive or 22 minute train ride and positioned at the end junction of the M1, New England and Pacific Highways, no matter where work takes you, there is easy access from Thornton. The suburb has grown in three distinct ages with the original development surrounding the shipping village, now known as “Old Thornton” emerging in the 1980’s before the Summerset Development in the late 1990’s to early 2000’s. To the North the suburb is now expanding again in a third wave of growth. We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and pay respects to their elders past, present and emerging. The suburb of Rutherford falls on the traditional lands of the Worimi, Awabakal & Mindaribba peoples.