Ryde, New South Wales

Infobox Australian Place | type = suburb
name = Ryde
city = Sydney
state = New South Wales

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|220px|center
caption = Ryde City Council Chambers
lga = City of Ryde
postcode = 2112
pop = formatnum:20381
pop_footnotes = Census 2006 AUS|id=SSC11887|name=Ryde (State Suburb)|accessdate=2008-03-22|quick=on]
area =
propval = [http://www.domain.com.au/Public/SuburbReport.aspx?searchTerm=2112&mode=+%24257%2C000 $670,000]
stategov = Lane Cove, Ryde
fedgov = Bennelong
near-nw = Denistone East
near-n = North Ryde
near-ne = East Ryde
near-w = West Ryde
near-e = Gladesville
near-sw = Meadowbank Rhodes
near-s = Putney
near-se = Tennyson Point
dist1 = 13
dir1 = north-west
location1= Sydney CBD

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 and is the administrative centre of the local government area of the City of Ryde.

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'. ["The Book of Sydney Suburbs", Compiled by Frances Pollen, Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1990, Published in Australia ISBN 0-207-14495-8, page 234] 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.

As Ryde was located at the top of the hill (from whichever way you approached it) it also became known as 'Top Ryde'. The popular Ryde Swimming Centre was demolished and rebuilt as Ryde Aquatic Centre, and hosted events of the Sydney 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 medium-sized 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, library and the office of the Deputy Premier of New South Wales John Watkins. 2RRR is a community radio station in Sydney, Australia broadcasting to the Ryde area on 88.5 FM.

Landmarks

The Ryde Bridge links Ryde south to Rhodes, over the Parramatta River.Ryde Pool was home to water polo events for the Sydney Olympics, held in 2000. The pool is now owned by Ryde City Council. Santa Rosa Park is located between Quarry Road and Bridge Road.

chools

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 worldFact|date=September 2007.

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.

Population

Notable Residents

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

References