Ms Gillard arrived shortly before 4pm outside Springwood's Early Childhood Centre and met ALP candidate Susan Templeman and retiring Member for Macquarie Bob Debus before crossing the road to greet wildly cheering Labor supporters at the town square.

"You're an inspiration to us," one young supporter told the PM.

A massive crowd gathered on the footpaths and Macquarie Road traffic ground to a halt as the prime minister made her way up to the Oriental Hotel, pausing to shake hands and say "g'day" to the throngs of people who came out to greet her.

Ms Gillard was delighted when she spotted young Raffty Ellis, whose birthday falls tomorrow, in the crowd sporting a "Julia Gillard is my homegirl" t-shirt.

"Look at that, that's fantastic," she said.

"Happy birthday. That's got to be a good omen, doesn't it?"

Raffty's dad Matthew Ellis, of Katoomba, was pleased to be supporting the prime minister and Ms Templeman.

"Of course I am voting Labor tomorrow, we want to go forwards not backwards," he said.

"It's important for his [Raffty's] future."

Anne Nicholson, of Warrimoo, brought grandson Max Parkin out to meet Ms Gillard and said she was delighted to greet the prime minister.

"It was fantastic," she said. "She's got my vote."

One supporter told Ms Gillard, "I told you two years ago you were going to be prime minister".

"You were right, thank you. Now we've got to see what happens tomorrow, that's the next stage," Ms Gillard said.

The crowd's response was overwhelmingly positive, with clapping, cheering and at least one marriage proposal from a teenage fan before Ms Gillard was eventually whisked away in her Commonwealth car.

One detractor, however, shouted "backstabber" outside the Oriental Hotel before being taken aside by Ms Gillard's federal police protectors, while a motorist stuck in traffic on the nearby roundabout shouted, "Go Tony" through an open car window.

It was the first time Ms Gillard has visited the Blue Mountains as prime minister. Her last visit to the area was during the Kevin 07 campaign.