Ryde, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Ryde is a suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...

 of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. Ryde is located 13 km north-west of the Sydney central business district
Sydney central business district
The Sydney central business district is the main commercial centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It extends southwards for about 3 kilometres from Sydney Cove, the point of first European settlement. Its north–south axis runs from Circular Quay in the north to Central railway station in...

 and 8 km east of Parramatta
Parramatta, New South Wales
Parramatta is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Greater Western Sydney west of the Sydney central business district on the banks of the Parramatta River. Parramatta is the administrative seat of the Local Government Area of the City of Parramatta...

. Ryde is the administrative centre of the local government area of the City of Ryde
City of Ryde
The City of Ryde is a Local Government Area in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on the Lower North Shore and Greater Western Sydney over West Ryde and Eastwood District....

 and part of the Northern Suburbs
Northern Suburbs (Sydney)
The Northern Suburbs is a general term used to describe the metropolitan area on the northern bank of the Parramatta River in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia east of West Pennant Hills and west of the Lane Cove National Park, south of Hornsby...

 area. It lies on the north bank of the Parramatta River
Parramatta River
The Parramatta River is a waterway in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour, a branch of Port Jackson, along with the smaller Lane Cove and Duck Rivers....

.

History

Ryde was named after the town of Ryde
Ryde
Ryde is a British seaside town, civil parish and the most populous town and urban area on the Isle of Wight, with a population of approximately 30,000. It is situated on the north-east coast. The town grew in size as a seaside resort following the joining of the villages of Upper Ryde and Lower...

 on the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...

. It may have been adopted from G.M. Pope, who came from Ryde on the Isle of Wight, who settled in the area and opened the 'Ryde Store'.

Ryde is the third oldest settlement in Australia, after Sydney and Parramatta. Originally, known by its Aboriginal name Wallumetta, the whole area between Parramatta
Parramatta River
The Parramatta River is a waterway in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour, a branch of Port Jackson, along with the smaller Lane Cove and Duck Rivers....

 and Lane Cove River
Lane Cove River
The Lane Cove River is a tributary of the Parramatta River, Sydney, Australia. Its lower reaches form an arm of Sydney Harbour.-Description:...

s became known as the Field of Mars. The name Ryde was used from the 1840s and adopted as the name of the municipality in 1870. The suburb contains the oldest settler's cottage in Australia, Addington, on Victoria Road. Addington was built by the emancipist James Stewart, circa 1800. James Shepherd
James Shepherd
James Stevens Foster Shepherd was born 29 February 1892 in Reefton and died 11 July 1970 in Dunedin. He was a New Zealand cricketer who played for the Otago Volts.- External Links :* from Cricinfo....

 bought the property in 1810 and added a six-room house to the original sandstone cottage.

Other historic buildings in the area include the police station on Victoria Road and Willandra, Willandra Street. The police station, a simple sandstone structure, was designed by Colonial Architect Mortimer Lewis
Mortimer Lewis
Mortimer William Lewis , was an English architect and surveyor who migrated to Australia and became Colonial Architect in the state of New South Wales from 1835 to 1849. Lewis was responsible for designing and overseeing many government buildings in Sydney and rural New South Wales, many of which...

 and built in 1837. Willandra is a two-storey Georgian home built by the Devlin family circa 1845, and more recently used as an art gallery and headquarters for the Ryde and District Historical Society. Both Willandra and the police station are listed on the Register of the National Estate
Register of the National Estate
The Register of the National Estate is a listing of natural and cultural heritage places in Australia. The listing was initially compiled between 1976 and 2003 by the Australian Heritage Commission. The register is now maintained by the Australian Heritage Council...

.

The cottage Riversdale, in Wade Street, was the home of a well-known riverboat captain by the name of Robert Gascoigne, who lived in the area circa 1900.

As Ryde was located at the top of the hill (from whichever way you approached it) it also became known as 'Top Ryde'. Ryde Swimming Centre was demolished and rebuilt as Ryde Aquatic Leisure Centre, and hosted events of the 2000 Olympics.

Trams

The majority of services operated from Fort Macquarie and Circular Quay down George St to Broadway and Parramatta Road. In the peak hours and other busy periods, supplementary services operated from Railway Square.

Tram services to Drummoyne and Ryde were serviced by the Rozelle Tram Depot
Rozelle Tram Depot
The former Rozelle tram depot, located in Glebe, New South Wales, is the largest remaining tram depot in Sydney, and is one of five remaining tram depots in the state of New South Wales. It was the second largest tram depot to service the Sydney network, running at peak capacity of approximately...

. The service, after departing the depot travelled along the Crescent and Commercial Road (now City West Link Road) in Glebe, turning left onto Victoria Road. It then crossed the Iron Cove Bridge and the former Gladesville Bridge before turning right onto Blaxland Road. It then wound its way along Blaxland Road, behind the site of the current council chambers, terminating near the intersection of Pope and Devlin Street in Ryde.

Commercial area

Top Ryde is an unofficial locality within Ryde, which contains the commercial area of the suburb, centred around the intersection of Devlin Street and Blaxland Road. Top Ryde City
Top Ryde City
Top Ryde City is a shopping centre in Ryde, New South Wales. The centre occupies a 3.5 hectare block bounded by Blaxland Road, Devlin Street, Pope Street and Tucker Street. The centre has retail space of 78,125 square metres across 6 floors of commercial space.-Pre-2007 History:The original Top...

 is a major shopping centre there. The original Top Ryde shopping centre on this site was the second of its type to be built in Australia.

Top Ryde is the location of the Ryde council
City of Ryde
The City of Ryde is a Local Government Area in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on the Lower North Shore and Greater Western Sydney over West Ryde and Eastwood District....

 office, and library.

2RRR
2RRR
2RRR is a community radio station based in Ryde in Sydney. It is licensed to cover part of the Lower North Shore suburbs including Ryde, Hunters Hill, Gladesville and Eastwood....

 is a community radio station in Sydney, Australia broadcasting to the Ryde area on 88.5 FM.

Transport

The Ryde Bridge
Ryde Bridge
The Ryde Bridge, which is in fact two bridges, is located in Sydney, Australia that crosses the Parramatta River, linking the suburb of Ryde in Sydney's Northern Suburbs to the suburb of Rhodes in Sydney's Inner West...

 links Ryde south to Rhodes
Rhodes, New South Wales
Rhodes is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Rhodes is located 16 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Canada Bay...

, over the Parramatta River
Parramatta River
The Parramatta River is a waterway in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour, a branch of Port Jackson, along with the smaller Lane Cove and Duck Rivers....

.
Sydney Buses operate a number of services in Ryde including:
  • M41 - Marsfield via Macquarie Park or Hurstville via Campsie
  • M52 - Sydney CBD (limited stops) or Parramatta via Ermington
  • 287 - Milsons Point via Lane Cove (Weekday AM peak service)
  • 458 - Macquarie Centre or Burwood via Concord
  • 459 - Macquarie Centre or Strathfield via Concord
  • 500 - Sydney CBD via Rozelle
  • 501 - Sydney CBD via Pyrmont or West Ryde
  • 507 - Sydney CBD via Putney or Macquarie Centre via North Ryde
  • 515 - Sydney CBD via Rozelle or Eastwood via Denistone
  • 518 - Sydney CBD via Rozelle or Macquaire Centre via Denistone East
  • 520 - Sydney CBD via Rozelle or Parramatta via Ermington


The main closest train station for the access to Ryde is West Ryde railway station which is on the Northern line
Northern railway line, Sydney
The Northern Line is part of the metropolitan rail network in Sydney known as CityRail. It serves the northern suburbs of Sydney and the Lower North Shore, along with parts of the Inner West and the Hills District. The line utilises the Epping to Chatswood Line and parts of the Main Northern Line,...

 of the CityRail
CityRail
CityRail is an operating brand of RailCorp, a corporation owned by the state government of New South Wales, Australia. It is responsible for providing commuter rail services, and some coach services, in and around Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong, the three largest cities of New South Wales. It is...

 network.

Schools

Schools in Ryde include government schools such as Ryde Secondary College
Ryde Secondary College
Ryde Secondary College is a co-educational public high school in Ryde, Sydney, Australia. It is a partial selective school with unique features. Ryde Secondary College is one of the few schools in New South Wales which takes enrolments for selective students, mainstream students as well as those...

 (formerly Malvina High School) and Ryde Public School. It also includes a few private schools such as Holy Cross College Ryde
Holy Cross College Ryde
Holy Cross College is a Catholic high school in the suburb of Gladesville in Sydney, Australia established in the tradition of the Patrician Brothers.- History and Tradition :...

. The German International School Sydney operated in Ryde from 1992 to 2008 and moved to Terrey Hills in August 2008.

Churches

Ryde contains St Anne's Anglican Church, Church Street, which has the grave of Maria Ann Sherwood Smith, in whose orchards the Granny Smith
Granny Smith
The Granny Ramsey Smith green apple is a tip-bearing apple cultivar, which originated in Australia in 1868. It is named after Maria Ann Smith, who propagated the cultivar from a chance seedling. The tree is thought to be a hybrid of Malus sylvestris, the European Wild Apple, with the domestic...

 apple
Apple
The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...

 was first found. Every year, in the suburb of Eastwood, the Granny Smith Festival is held in her honour. The church was built in 1826 and extended in later years. It was a central feature in the early life of the area and is now listed on the Register of the National Estate. Church Street is also the location of Ryde Wesley Uniting Church.

Parks and recreation

Santa Rosa Park is located between Quarry Road and Bridge Road. It features a separated pathway for walking and bike riders. The park is used for football and cricket. Gannan Park was once a quarry and brickworks and is accessed from Buna Court, Minga Street and McAuley Park.

Ryde Pool was home to water polo
Water polo
Water polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...

 events for the Sydney Olympics, held in 2000. The pool is now owned by Ryde City Council.

Notable residents

  • Karen Moras
    Karen Moras
    Karen Lynne Moras , known after marriage as Karen Moras-Stephenson was an Australian distance freestyle swimmer of the 1960s and 1970s who won a bronze medal in the 400 m freestyle at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City...

     - Olympic bronze medallist in swimming
    Swimming (sport)
    Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...

     and world record holder, was born in Ryde in 1954
  • John Watkins
    John Watkins (Australian politician)
    John Arthur Watkins is a former Deputy Premier of New South Wales, serving between 2005 until his resignation from Parliament in 2008...

     - The former Deputy Premier of NSW and Minister for Transport and Finance in NSW.
  • Hayden Turner
    Hayden Turner
    Hayden Turner born 16 January 1966 in Sydney, Australia, is a television and cable TV presenter.-Life:Hayden Turner is a Wildlife Television Presenter, now a global household name through his work for the National Geographic Channel and TV...

     - Zookeeper and TV presenter
  • John Roberston
    John Robertson (New South Wales politician)
    John Cameron Robertson MP , an Australian politician, is the Leader of the Australian Labor Party in New South Wales and the Leader of the Opposition. Robertson is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Blacktown for Labor since 2011...

    - Leader of the Australian Labor Party in New South Wales.
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