North Ryde, New South Wales

From Freepedia

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.

1 History
2 Local landmarks
3 Transportation
4 External links

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. 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. Main farming activity included orchards, market gardens and poultry. 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, much 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 in 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 Microsoft, CSC, Sony, Phillips, Avaya and also the pharmaceutical sector with such companies as Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca.

Local landmarks

Local landmarks of North Ryde include Eden Gardens, the Macquarie Centre, the North Ryde Golf Club and the Australian Film, Television and Radio School. Recently however, North Ryde's palmtree-lined Cox's Road has developed a reputation for modern AlFresco style dining with flash 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 precints.

Transportation

The area is well served by public buses, and will have three railway stations with the completion of the Epping to Chatswood rail link in 2008. The stations are at Macquarie Park, Macquarie University and Delhi Road.