Called Wallumetta by the Wallumedegal people who lived there, the area that became North Ryde was part of the Field of Mars common from 1804, with surrounding farms granted to settlers. When the common was subdivided and sold from the 1880s, small blocks led to residential development, gradually driving out the farms and orchards. By the 1960s, the district's increasing commercial expansion led to the farming and picnicking areas being developed into shops, showrooms and an industrial park.
