Ryde, New South Wales

Ryde is a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Ryde is located 13 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district and 8 kilometres east of Parramatta. Ryde is the administrative centre of the local government area of the City of Ryde and part of the Northern Suburbs area. It lies on the north bank of the Parramatta River.

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. 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 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 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.

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 Centre, and hosted events of the 2000 Olympics.

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 Road. Top Ryde City is a major shopping centre currently under construction 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 office, and library.

2RRR is a community radio station in Sydney, Australia broadcasting to the Ryde area on 88.5 FM.

Transport
The Ryde Bridge links Ryde south to Rhodes, over the Parramatta River. Buses operated by Sydney Buses to and from Ryde operate to Strathfield, Concord, Macquarie Uni, Burwood, Sydney CBD (via Pyrmont), West Ryde, Putney, Chatswood, Epping, Olympic Park, Parramatta, Eastwood. Its main closest train station for the access to Ryde is West Ryde railway station which is on the Northern line of the CityRail network.

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. 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 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. 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. One of the newer churches in the area is *River City Church who meet in the new Shepherds Bay Community Centre on the banks of the Parramatta River at Meadowbank.

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

Notable residents

 * Karen Moras - Olympic bronze medallist in swimming and world record holder, was born in Ryde in 1954
 * John Watkins - The former Deputy Premier of NSW and Minister for Transport and Finance in NSW.