North Ryde, New South Wales

North Ryde is a suburb in the north of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the region of Lower North Shore, the state electorates of Lane Cove and Ryde and the federal electorate of Division of Bennelong. It is located approximately 17 km from the Sydney CBD in the City of Ryde, nearby suburbs include Epping, East Ryde, Eastwood, Pymble, Chatswood, Lane Cove and Marsfield.

Although officially a separate suburb, Macquarie Park (neighbouring to the north) is considered by many to be part of North Ryde as it was officially part of the suburb until the 1960s when it was rezoned. Macquarie Park and North Ryde share the same postcode of 2113 (as does East Ryde), and many businesses and residences (despite being in Macquarie Park) still advertise their address as being in North Ryde. East Ryde was also part of North Ryde until the 1960s, but unlike Macquarie Park, has forged its own identity as a separate suburb.

Macquarie University, situated north of Macquarie Park, was also once referred to as being located in North Ryde, and shared its 2113 postcode. This was changed in the late 1980s-early 1990s when Australia Post issued Macquarie University with its own postcode, 2109.

1 History
2 Local landmarks
3 Transportation
4 External links

[edit] History

North Ryde was established in the mid 19th century in what was a heavily vegetated area, as a farming district next to the already established district of Ryde. Originally known by white settlers as the Field of Mars, it is not known when the district became known as North Ryde, however the earliest reference appears to be 1879 when the district's first public school (opened in 1878) changed its name from City View Public School to North Ryde Public School a year later. The North Ryde Post Office in Cox's Road was opened in 1885. Main farming activity included orchards, market gardens and poultry. An Army Vehicle Park was located in North Ryde, bounded by Epping, Wicks, Cox's and Blenheim Roads. A pig farm was located in Wicks Road and was operational until the late 1960s. The House of David operated for many years on Lane Cove Road, and included picnic grounds, tennis courts and a zoo. A migrant hostel was located on the south side of Blenheim Road. It remained rural until after World War II when the state government purchased and subdivided much of the land for public housing. Although there is still some public housing in the area, many of the residential properties have transferred into private hands, which has transformed the area into an upper-middle class suburb.

The mid 1960's saw the combined establishment of the North Ryde Industrial Area and Macquarie University, an idea originating from the industrial areas surrounding Stanford University near San Francisco. Industries were originally limited to being light, science related and include research activities. Many major hi-tech corporations have established their Australian headquarters in the area most notably the information technology sector including Toshiba, Microsoft, CSC, Sony, Phillips, Avaya and also the pharmaceutical sector with such companies as Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca.

[edit] Local landmarks

Local landmarks of North Ryde include Eden Gardens (Nursery), the Macquarie Centre, Macquarie Hospital, bounded by Cox's, Wicks, Twin & Badajoz Roads, formerly known as the North Ryde Mental Assylum, was then re-named the North Ryde Psychiatric Centre, then Macquarie Hospital, then Gladesville-Macquarie Hospital before reverting to the previous name Macquarie Hospital, which adjoins the North Ryde Common, where annual Australia Day Concerts and Candles by Candlelight are held each year, (the grounds are open now after the removal of the original hospitals gates and fences), the North Ryde Golf Club (motorcycle racing was held there in the late 1920s), North Ryde R.S.L. Community Club ,CSIRO Laboratories, Global Television Studios (formerly the TEN-10 studios), MIX 106.5 Radio Station, Macquarie University and the Australian Film, Television and Radio School.

North Ryde enjoys the adjacent Lane Cove National Park, The Field of Mars Reserve, and access to the Great North Walk and the Lane Cove River, once home to the famous Fairyland picnic grounds.

North Ryde's main street, historically, has always been Cox's Road, which recently has developed a reputation for modern Al Fresco style dining with streetside cafės and restaurants lining the footpaths.

The Lane Cove River Bridge linking the City of Ryde and the Municipality of Lane Cove is one of Lower Northern Sydney's historical precincts, and has been widened to accommodate access to the Lane Cove Tunnel motorway.

North Ryde RSL has grown over the years from a small hut to today's large lavishly appointed club, with excellent facilities for members and guests, including a Health Club and Chinese Yum Cha restaurant.

North Ryde RSL Cricket Club is the local cricket club of the area.

[edit] Transportation

The primary mode of transportation in the area is the private car. The M2 Hills Motorway passes through it on route to Sydney city (first becoming the Gore Hill/Warringah freeway).It is otherwise well served by public buses, and will have three underground railway stations with the completion of the Epping to Chatswood rail link in 2008. The stations are at Macquarie Park, Macquarie University and North Ryde (previously Delhi Road).

[edit] External links

Coordinates: -33.79242° 151.11954°

Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Street Directory, MSN Maps and Multimap.
- Satellite image from Google Maps, WikiMapia and Terraserver.

Suburbs of the City of Ryde \| Lower North Shore \| Sydney
Denistone \| Denistone East \| Denistone West \| East Ryde \| Eastwood \| Gladesville \| Macquarie Park \| Marsfield \| Meadowbank \| Melrose Park \| North Ryde \| Putney \| Ryde \| Tennyson Point \| West Ryde
List of Sydney suburbs