Rydalmere ''(formerly "Field of Mars")'' is a
suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
of
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, in the state of
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. Rydalmere is approximately 21 kilometres west of the
Sydney central business district
The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main Central business district, commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or c ...
in the
local government area
A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...
of the
City of Parramatta
The City of Parramatta, also known as Parramatta Council, is a Local government in Australia, local government area located west of central Sydney in the Greater Western Sydney region. Parramatta Council is situated between the City of Ryde and ...
. Rydalmere is part of the
Greater Western Sydney
Greater Western Sydney (GWS) is a large region of the metropolitan area of Greater Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), Australia that generally embraces the north-west, south-west, central-west, and far western sub-regions within Sydney's metropoli ...
region.
History
The earliest grant in the area was to Phillip Schaeffer who settled in 1791. The district comprising modern day Rydalmere,
Ermington and
Dundas Dundas may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Dundas, New South Wales
* Dundas, Queensland, a locality in the Somerset Region
* Dundas, Tasmania
* Dundas, Western Australia
* Fort Dundas, a settlement in the Northern Territory 1824–1828
* Shire of ...
was initially called "The Ponds" because of such natural features occurring above Subiaco Creek. Shortly after Schaeffer's, further grants were given to several emancipists, eight marines and two crew of
HMS ''Sirius'', on the northern bank of the
Parramatta River
The Parramatta River is an intermediate tide-dominated, drowned valley estuary located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. With an average depth of , the Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour, a branch of Port Jackson. Seco ...
at Rydalmere and Ermington. By about 1800 "The Ponds" became known as "Field of Mars", presumably because of Mars being the god of war, and the military men that received land grants there. The parish of Field of Mars spread more or less from
Parramatta
Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...
to
West Ryde
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...
and up to
Carlingford and
Eastwood Eastwood may refer to:
Places
;in Australia
*Eastwood, New South Wales
**Eastwood railway station
**Electoral district of Eastwood
*Eastwood, South Australia
;in Canada
* Eastwood, Ontario
*Eastwood, Edmonton, Alberta, a neighborhood
;in the Ph ...
. Later on to the north of this area along the
Lane Cove River
The Lane Cove River, a northern tributary of the Parramatta River, is a tide-dominated, drowned valley estuary west of Sydney Harbour, located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The river is a tributary of the Parramatta River, winding throu ...
, a Field of Mars Common of 5,000 acres was established. Today's Field of Mars reserve and cemetery are remnants of this common.
Aboriginal culture
The
Darug
The Dharug or Darug people, formerly known as the Broken Bay tribe, are an Aboriginal Australian people, who share strong ties of kinship and, in pre-colonial times, lived as skilled hunters in family groups or clans, scattered throughout much ...
is the clan name for the indigenous people of the area. The Darug fashioned tools and spears for hunting native animals and collected wild berries and flora as a valuable source of vitamins. The Darug had a close relationship with the river, from which they caught fish, eels, and other food. Their stable bark canoes often carried a small fire in the middle – built on a mound of soil to allow them to cook their catch fresh. 'Firebrand farming' was also practised in the region.
Soon after
Governor Phillip's arrival with the
First Fleet
The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command ...
of convicts from England in 1788, Parramatta was developed as a farming settlement to feed the new English colony. This led to the immediate and tragic displacement of local Aborigines from the land they had lived off for thousands of years.
The introduction of foreign diseases was the most debilitating trend – and many of the Barramatagal clan disappeared in the
smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
epidemic during early European settlement. However against the odds others survived and their descendants live in the region to this day. In the early 19th century, more positive developments occurred and the region became a meeting place for tribes from surrounding regions. An annual feast was held by Governor Macquarie to encourage Aboriginal people to leave their children at a local school, but this focus later shifted to Blacktown area.
European settlement
Phillip Shaeffers 'Vineyard' grant of 140 acres was followed in 1792 with grants adjoining on the north bank of Parramatta River. These were to ex soldiers and the settlement was called 'Field of Mars'. The grants at modern day Rydalmere were to James Manning, John Carver, John Seymour, William Reid and a second to Phillip Schaeffer. These lots were all 80 acres except for Alexander Mcdonald whose grant at modern Ermington was 130 acres because he was a married man.
Subiaco Monastery
The first Roman Catholic archbishop of
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
,
John Bede Polding
John Bede Polding, OSB (18 November 1794 in 16 March 1877 ) was the first Roman Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Australia.
Early life
Polding was born in Liverpool, England on 18 November 1794. His father was of Dutch descent and his mother ...
, had been taught by the nuns of
Stanbrook Abbey
Stanbrook Abbey is a Catholic contemplative Benedictine women's monastery with the status of an abbey, located at Wass, North Yorkshire, England.
The community was founded in 1625 at Cambrai in Flanders (then part of the Spanish Netherlands, ...
in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
as a little boy. In 1849, he appealed to the abbey to provide nuns for a
Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
monastery that he was founding on the 600 acres of Hannibal Macarthur's old Vineyard Estate which he had purchased. This was to be named
Subiaco after the Italian location where
St Benedict
Benedict of Nursia ( la, Benedictus Nursiae; it, Benedetto da Norcia; 2 March AD 480 – 21 March AD 548) was an Italian Christian monk, writer, and theologian who is venerated in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Orie ...
, the founder of the Benedictines, had begun monastic life. In response, Dame Magdalen le Clerc was sent to join Sister Scholastica Gregory from
Princethorpe Priory, and the two founded what is now
Jamberoo
Jamberoo is a village on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia in the Municipality of Kiama. It is approximately 11.3 km inland from Kiama. At the , Jamberoo had a population of 1,667. The town's name is derived from an Aboriginal ...
Abbey. This left Subiaco in 1957, after the urban development of the locality had become oppressive to the nuns.
Thomas O'Neill
Rydalmere was named by Thomas O'Neill when he purchased much of the acreage of the Vineyard Estate not occupied by the nunnery, after it was put up for sale through the trustees by the Sydney Roman Catholic diocese in 1877. Despite the myth surrounding O’Neill coming from England’s Cumbrian Lake District, he was born in
Tipperary, Ireland in 1830, and accompanied his parents to Australia as a young lad, where he finished his education.
He left for the Californian goldfields in 1849 and returned in 1851, the venture being quite profitable for him. He entered business with much energy and a strong drive which along with sound commercial instincts allowed him to retire a very wealthy man in 1877. Another myth is that O'Neill purchased the Vineyard estate as a speculator in order to quickly sell it and make a healthy profit. The facts don't tend to support this view. After the purchase, he established his "Fairmount Estate" which covered a considerable portion of Rydalmere, the boundaries more or less extending from Park Road (formerly Wharf St) to Spurway Street, the southern boundary being the Parramatta river, and the northern boundary being Subiaco Creek (formerly Bishop’s Creek). It was an orchard and pasture property.
"Fairmount" the family home he built, was said to be a very beautiful residence, and splendid views were to be had from its tower. It has long since disappeared and was thought to have been located near
Victoria Road and Gammell Street. The property sales and sub-divisions only occurred slowly, and appear to be a result of either being required for the advancement of the suburb, or the estate being divided over time by roads being established i.e. Victoria Road in 1886, rather than being sold off for a profit.
Thomas O'Neill died on 13 March 1890 at Fairmount aged 59. His funeral service was held in St Mary's Cathedral, and he was buried in Waverley cemetery. He was said to have been a most amiable man, held in high regard by all that knew him. His was deeply involved in not only Irish and Catholic affairs, but public affairs in general. His charity spanned many years with his support of St Vincent's Hospital, The Good Samaritan Refuge and The Benevolent Asylum being on-going. His purse was never closed to charity. His final act before his illness was to donate the land and money to help the establishment of the Catholic church and school at Rydalmere.
He still owned most of his Rydalmere property at the time of his death. Fairmount was later sold by the family and remained an orchard with a few building lots sold. It was not until after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, when the
Housing Commission acquired it for public housing, that it was fully developed.
O'Neill had owned an estate named Rydalmere, which he had sold years before buying the vineyard estate and must have liked the name which he reused. Exactly where his first Rydalmere property was located is not known.
Rydal Water
Rydal Water is a small body of water in the central part of the English Lake District, in the county of Cumbria. It is located near the hamlet of Rydal, between Grasmere and Ambleside in the Rothay Valley.Parker, 2004, page 35
The lake is 1, ...
is a lake in The English
Lake District
The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...
which gains its name from the nearby village of
Rydal, and “Mere” is an
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
word meaning "lake", or "body of water".
Heritage listings
Rydalmere has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
* 171 Victoria Road:
Rydalmere Hospital
Rydalmere Hospital is a heritage-listed former orphanage, psychiatric hospital and now university campus at 171 Victoria Road, Rydalmere, New South Wales, Rydalmere, in the City of Parramatta, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was formerl ...
Transport
Rydalmere railway station
Rydalmere railway station, originally Victoria Road railway station, was a railway station in Sydney, Australia that was open between 1896 and 2020. It was located on the Carlingford line and served the suburb of Rydalmere. At the time of clos ...
was located on the former
Carlingford line of the
Sydney Trains
Sydney Trains is the operator of the suburban passenger rail network serving the city of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The network is a hybrid urban- suburban rail system with a central underground core that covers over of track and 170 ...
network, which closed on 5 January 2020 for conversion to
light rail. The next station to the south was
Camellia
''Camellia'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are more than 220 described species, with some controversy ...
and to the north was
Dundas Dundas may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Dundas, New South Wales
* Dundas, Queensland, a locality in the Somerset Region
* Dundas, Tasmania
* Dundas, Western Australia
* Fort Dundas, a settlement in the Northern Territory 1824–1828
* Shire of ...
. A conversion of the Camellia to Carlingford section of the Carlingford railway line to light rail was announced in 2015 as part of the
Parramatta Light Rail
The Parramatta Light Rail (often unofficially referred to as the Western Sydney Light Rail) is a project for a light rail line in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, which is under construction and due to start passenger services in 2024. The ...
project. Though originally to run entirely to the south of the Parramatta River, a redesigned second branch of the light rail was announced in 2017. Beginning at
Sydney Olympic Park
Sydney Olympic Park is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, located 13 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Parramatta Council. It is commonly known as Olympic Park but officially na ...
, the line will pass through Rydalmere before joining up with the Carlingford branch at Camellia. If the Camellia option is chosen, a new bridge across the river would be constructed between the two suburbs.
Rydalmere ferry wharf
Rydalmere ferry wharf is located on the northern side of the Parramatta River serving the Sydney suburb of Rydalmere.
History
Rydalmere wharf was opened in December 1993, when ferry services resumed operating between Meadowbank and Parramatt ...
is on
Parramatta River
The Parramatta River is an intermediate tide-dominated, drowned valley estuary located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. With an average depth of , the Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour, a branch of Port Jackson. Seco ...
and is served by
Sydney Ferries
Sydney Ferries is the public transport ferry network serving the city of Sydney, New South Wales. Services operate on Sydney Harbour and the connecting Parramatta River. The network is controlled by the New South Wales Government's transport a ...
's
Parramatta River services from
Parramatta
Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...
to
Circular Quay
Circular Quay is a harbour, former working port and now international passenger shipping port, public piazza and tourism precinct, heritage area, and transport node located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on the northern edge of the Syd ...
.
RiverCat catamaran type ferries work the Parramatta River route due to shallow waters, particularly during low tides.
There are five bus routes operated by
Busways
Busways is an Australian bus company operating services in Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis ...
'
Ryde Bus Depot
Ryde Bus Depot is a bus depot in the Sydney suburb of Ryde operated by Busways.
History
Ryde Bus Depot opened on 28 June 1953, the same day that Ultimo Tram Depot closed. It initially took over the operation of these routes, which were a combina ...
that service the area:
*500N Overnight
Parramatta station –
Hyde Park
Hyde Park may refer to:
Places
England
* Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London
* Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds
* Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield
* Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester
Austra ...
*501 Parramatta station –
Railway Square
Railway Square is a plaza at the southern end of the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia, formed by the confluence of Broadway, Sydney, Broadway, Lee Street, Pitt Street and George Street, Sydney, George Street. The squa ...
*523 Parramatta station –
West Ryde station
*524 Parramatta station – West Ryde
*525 Parramatta station –
Strathfield station
Victoria Road (A40) is a major route connecting Parramatta with
Anzac Bridge
The Anzac Bridge is an eight-lane cable-stayed bridge that carries the Western Distributor (A4) across Johnstons Bay between Pyrmont and Glebe Island (part of the suburb of Rozelle), on the western fringe of the central business district of ...
and passes through Rydalmere. Silverwater Road is part of the
A6 arterial route between Cumberland Highway at Carlingford and Princes Highway at Heathcote. It intersects with Victoria Road at a flyover interchange on the eastern edge of Rydalmere and crosses the Parramatta River over
Silverwater Bridge
Silverwater Bridge is a concrete box girder bridge that spans the Parramatta River west of the central business district in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The bridge carries Silverwater Road (A6) over the river to link Silverwater in t ...
.
Commercial areas
Rydalmere currently consists of residential and commercial developments. The western side of Rydalmere is commercial consisting primarily of light manufacturing industry and service industries. The eastern side is mainly residential.
Rydalmere Family Inn
In 1886 Thomas O’Neill advertised land on the "Rydalmere" estate. The subdivision was divided into residential blocks, and was bounded by Victoria and Park Roads, and included Pine, Wattle and Myrtle Streets. The sale was hardly a success, though the corner block of Victoria & Park was sold, with building probably commencing that year, and the hotel license being obtained to allow the opening of the "Rydalmere Family Hotel". O’Neill donated the neighboring land to the Catholic Church and school, while the rest of that subdivision appears to have been purchased by Frederick Randall, the Postmaster. It was known as Randall’s Estate and sold some 30 years later.
The Rydalmere Hotel has a long if interrupted history. Henry Atkins was the first Licensee, but only held it for a short time before transferring the license to Henry Jenkins in March 1887. Mr. Jenkins wasted no time advertising his hotel in the SMH, with the Saturday 26 March edition extolling the virtues to "City Gentleman and Families" of the "comfort and moderate charges at the RYDALMERE FAMILY HOTEL, which is in every sense a country hotel". Disaster struck when Sydney was hit by a storm with gale force winds on Friday 23 September 1892, resulting in the hotel being blown down.
There was even greater excitement in the district on 9 September 1907, when Constable Howard, senior officer of the Dundas district described how he passed through the scrub near the Rydalmere Hotel shortly after mid-day. He inspected the hotel, where everything appeared ok, but then he heard noises and talk coming from the Catholic Church next-door, indicating illegal drinking taking place. Waiting at the door, he attempted to detain a person as they were leaving, but was dragged into the building where he received a fearful beating and kicking from four men. He drew his revolver and fired, wounding a man. The four men arrested were Thomas Millane (the wounded Licensee of the Rydalmere Hotel), Michael Millane (his brother), Michael Murphy (caretaker of the church) and George Workman.
The hotel continued trading with a somewhat dubious reputation and ever changing Licensees until 1929, when it was forced to close due to its license being transferred to a Campsie hotel. In 1949 Millers applied to re-license the Rydalmere hotel by transferring the license of the New Langham Hotel in York Street. The Rydalmere Family Hotel was renovated, and additions made to it, so that it was ready for its official opening on 31 December 1949. It is an unusual design, with the double storey section on the eastern side possibly being the original 1892 building, built after the storm. It had a striking appearance of off white, with the lower section having light blue glazed tiles with black tile trim – a cool colour scheme, which on hot days beckons its customers, and very different to the brown tiles of most pubs at the time.
During the 1970s the colour changed, as did the name, to The Family Inn and it became one of Sydney's leading live music venues.
Rydalmere Shopping Centre
The shopping centre is located on both sides of Victoria Road at the intersection with Park Road. The northern side was constructed in 1959 and is typical of the era.
The original shops consisted of Strange's Four Square Food Store, Davy's Pharmacy, McLeay's Hardware, Lorna Beauty Salon, Bambino Children's & Baby Wear, Rydalmere Fish Supply, Rydalmere Milk Bar and Pat Howard Barber & Tobacconist.
A weatherboard Post Office building originally stood near the footpath on Victoria Road, but was relocated back near the bank adjacent to the shops in the early 60s.
The shops formerly located on the southern side of Victoria Road were built about the same time and belonged originally to the Hellyer family. They are the Newsagency and Grocery/Milk Bar. The end shop nearest Park Road was a Fish Shop/Takeaway that traded for a great many years as The White Rose. The shops were demolished in 2010 to make way for Aldi's new store.
Lost heritage
Rydalmere lost the beautiful Subiaco in 1961; it was formerly the home of Hannibal Macarthur, owner of the Vineyard Estate. Factories had surrounded the property.
Rheem acquired and demolished the property in order to extend its factory. The house itself was a great loss, but the convent grounds had become a time capsule and still included Hannibal Macarthur’s original garden and Phillip Schaeffer's earlier house "Vineyard" c. 1791.
In contrast and a kilometre or so downstream, International Combustion Australia (ICA) had acquired the old Truganini Park property in 1953, in order to erect its new factory on the corner of South Street and Park Road. The old homestead "Truganini" was still in good condition, so ICA preserved it by building their new factory around it, and using it as office space. The factory was sold and demolished and is now a factory unit complex but Truganini is still there thanks to 60 years of careful maintenance by ICA. Although it is a private business premises, its exterior can be viewed during business hours by interested people.
Another sad loss was the old original brick school building on Victoria Road, a typical 2-room country schoolhouse of the period. The Minister for Public Instruction opened it with much ceremony on 14 December 1890. On completion of these duties, the official party hurriedly made their way across the road in order to perform a similar duty for the opening of the Rydalmere School of Arts.
The old school building had been used as the school library for many years and suffered damage from a fire out of school hours. Being the 1960s, it would be reasonable to suggest that demolition rather than preservation was the first thought that entered the mind of the bureaucrat making the decision. Thankfully the "Masters House" built at the same time as the school, and located next-door still exists. It is now a private dwelling.
Although the Ermington-Rydalmere local Council was absorbed into Parramatta Council in 1948, the old Town Hall (which was the former School of Arts with a new facade attached) managed to survive until 1963 before it was demolished. Erected in 1889, it was a hall with a classical style façade and stood near the footpath, facing Victoria Road. A little further up the footpath on the eastern side, stood the old wooden "temporary" Post Office. It was demolished about 1962 along with the old neighbouring Fire Station.
Across the road on the south east side of Park Road, near the corner of Victoria Road stood the old horse trough. It was removed about the same time.
Housing
The residential part of Rydalmere is divided by Victoria Road. The northern side has generally higher property prices and less Department of Housing and this is reflected in the more conservative voting pattern.
*Property Prices, 12 months to 1/March/2006.
*Houses Average: $461,000.
*Houses Median: $448,000.
*Median change over last 12 months: -6%.
*Units Average for postcode: $377,000.
*Based on sales reported to Australian Property Monitors
Landmarks
*Holy Name of Mary Roman Catholic Church
*
Female Orphan School
Rydalmere Hospital is a heritage-listed former orphanage, psychiatric hospital and now university campus at 171 Victoria Road, Rydalmere, New South Wales, Rydalmere, in the City of Parramatta, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was formerl ...
*Waterpipe and Pedestrian Bridge over Parramatta River
*Rydalmere Bowling Club
*
Subiaco Creek
Ponds/Subiaco Creek, a joint northern tributary of the Parramatta River, is a creek north-west of Sydney Harbour, located in the Northern Suburbs region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Creek is also known as The Ponds and the Subiaco ...
*
Vineyard Creek
Schools
*Rydalmere Public School
*
Western Sydney University
Western Sydney University, formerly the University of Western Sydney, is an Australian multi-campus university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, Australia. The university in its current form was founded in 1989 as a federated network ...
"Parramatta" Campus
*St Marys Catholic School
Parks
*Crowgey Street Reserve
*Eric Primrose Reserve
*John Carver Reserve
*Rydalmere Park
*Rydalmere section of
Parramatta
Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...
to
Putney
Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
History
Putney is an ancient paris ...
cycleway
*Rydalmere section of Parramatta River
*Schaeffer Park
*Upjohn Park
*Anderson Park
*Marri Badoo Reserve
*Hannibal Macarthur Park
*Sections of the Ponds Walk
Organisations
*Rydalmere Bowling Club
*Rydalmere Cricket Club
*Rotary Club of Rydalmere
*Rydalmere Branch of
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...
*
1st Rydalmere Scout Group
* Part of the suburb of Rydalmere lies in the Anglican parish of Dundas/Telopea.
Sport and recreation
* The Rydalmere Cricket Club's team, 'The Mighty Wrens', plays in the Northern Districts Cricket Association (NDCA competition. The Rydalmere and Dundas United Cricket Clubs are a partnership that involves the Rydalmere Cricket Club being responsible for senior cricket teams and Dundas United Cricket Club responsible for developing and fostering junior cricket in the greater Parramatta area.
* Parramatta City FC Blues is the
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
(football) team whose home ground is Eric Primrose Reserve in Rydalmere.
Population
At the
2016 census, Rydalmere recorded a population of 6,642. Of these:
* The age distribution was quite similar to the country in general. The median age was 37 years, close to the national median of 38. Children aged 0–14 years made up 19.5% of the population (national average is 18.7%) and people aged 65 years and over made up 12.7% of the population (national average is 15.8%).
* 53.9% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were China 9.8%, South Korea 5.6%, India 2.6%, Hong Kong 2.2% and England 2.0%. 49.7% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 8.5%, Korean 7.7%, Cantonese 6.9%, Arabic 3.0% and Spanish 1.5%.
* The most common responses for religion in Rydalmere were Catholic 28.2%, No Religion 26.4% and Anglican 9.6%.
* The medium household weekly income was $1,553, which is higher than the national average of $1,438.
Politics
In the
Australian Parliament
The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislature, legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the ...
, Rydalmere falls within the
Division of Parramatta
The Division of Parramatta is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales. The division was created in 1900 and was one of the original 65 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named for the locality o ...
, currently represented by
Andrew Charlton
Andrew Charlton (born 1979) is an Australian politician and economist who has been Member of Parliament for the division of Parramatta since 2022.
Charlton has been described as a "centrist, evidence-based, data-driven economist with entrepre ...
, a member of the
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...
.Charlton was elected at the
2022 Australian federal election
The 2022 Australian federal election was held on Saturday 21 May 2022 to elect members of the 47th Parliament of Australia. The incumbent Liberal/National Coalition government, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, sought to win a fourth conse ...
.
In the
New South Wales Parliament
The Parliament of New South Wales is a bicameral legislature in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), consisting of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (lower house) and the New South Wales Legislative Council (upper house). Each ...
, Rydalmere falls within the
Parramatta electorate, currently represented by
Geoff Lee,
a member of the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
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. Lee was elected to NSW Parliament at the
2011 state election.
Rydalmere falls within the Elizabeth Macarthur Ward of the
City of Parramatta
The City of Parramatta, also known as Parramatta Council, is a Local government in Australia, local government area located west of central Sydney in the Greater Western Sydney region. Parramatta Council is situated between the City of Ryde and ...
local government area
A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...
.
References
External links
Parramatta City Council
*
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A public license or public copyright licenses is a license by which a copyright holder as licensor can grant additional copyright permissions to any and all pers ...
]
{{Geography of Parramatta River
Suburbs of Sydney
City of Parramatta