He was renowned for his award-winning children's fiction, most notably the novels Storm Boy, Blue Fin, the Sun on the Stubble series, and February Dragon.

[5] Thiele enlisted in the Australian Army in December 1940, and was posted to the 18th Light Horse (Machine Gun) as a private.

Several of his books have been made into films or television series, including Sun on the Stubble, The Fire in the Stone, Blue Fin and Storm Boy.

Thiele suffered from severe arthritis from 1955[9] and in his later years left South Australia to settle in warmer conditions near Dayboro, Queensland.

[11] The Thiele Library at the Magill campus of the University of South Australia was named after him many years before his death.