RYDE, NEW SOUTH WALES

'Ryde' is a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Ryde is located 13 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district and 8 kilometres east of Parramatta. Ryde lies on the north bank of the Parramatta River, in the local government area of the City of Ryde.

Contents

Commercial Area

Landmarks

Schools

Churches

History

Population

Demographics

Notable Residents

References

External links

Commercial Area

'Top Ryde' is a locality within Ryde, which contains the commercial area of the suburb, centred around the intersection of Devlin Street and Blaxland Street. The Top Ryde shopping centre was one of the first to be built in Australia. It was a medium sized shopping centre which has now closed for demolition and rebuilding. [1]
Top Ryde is the location of the Ryde council office, library and the office of the Deputy Premier of New South Wales John Watkins.

Landmarks

Ryde Pool was home to water polo events for the Sydney Olympics, held in 2000. The pool is now owned by Ryde City Council after its former owners went into liquidation.

Schools

Schools in Ryde include government schools such as Ryde Secondary College (formerly Malvina High School) and Ryde Public School. It also includes a few private schools such as Holy Cross College Ryde and the German International School Sydney, the only German School in the Australasia region of the world.

Churches

Ryde contains St Anne's church, which has the grave of Maria Anne "Granny" Smith, in whose orchards the Granny Smith apple was first found. Every year, in the suburb of Eastwood, the Granny Smith Festival is held in her honour.

History

Ryde was named after the town of Ryde on the Isle of Wight. 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 and Lane Cove Rivers became known as the Field of Mars. Ryde was used from the 1840s and adopted as the name of the municipality in 1870.

Population

Demographics

The area has a strong ethnic community, consisting of Italian, Scandinavian, Persian, Chinese and Indian cultures among many others.

Notable Residents

★ Karen Moras - Olympics bronze medallist and world record holder, was born in Ryde in 1954

References

★ ''The Book of Sydney Suburbs'', Compiled by Frances Pollen, Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1990, Published in Australia ISBN 0-207-14495-8

External links

★ Ryde City Council website

★ History of Ryde

★ 2001 Census Information

★ Ryde Living community site