Dictionary of Sydney

The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.

North Ryde

Northern residential suburb adjacent to Macquarie Park, which was separated from it in 1999. The area was known for poultry farms and orchards until housing development began in the 1950s.

-33.789217711231, 151.12787850443

Name
Alternate
Wallumetta
Property
Administered by
Part of
Type

North Ryde

CC BY-SA 2.0
,
2008

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.