Grave Tales and Silent Stories: the history of those who have gone before.
Visit the graves of some of our earlier residents, hear their stories, learn their histories. Tours will be virtual and actual. Visit the grave of Granny Smith, creator of the Granny Smith apple and other interesting people. Learn about their lives, and their deaths.
Visit Willandra, an 1840s Georgian home, on Sunday 18 May from 11am to 2pm. At 11.30 Helen Patterson and Maureen Copley will give a talk about the Cemetery at Gladesville. At 12.30 we will walk to St Anne’s Churchyard (5 minute walk) and tour the cemetery.
Built on Wallumedegal land by James Devlin in the 1840s and saved from demolition by the community in the 1970s, Willandra had been a house, then a service station.
Explore the house and its views of the Parramatta River, see displays of memorabilia of Ryde’s history from its origins, watch a display of images of Ryde, see what’s in our Archives and purchase RDHS publications. We will also have a display of images of the five cemeteries in the Ryde district and details of some of those people buried there.
A private buyer proposed relocate the house in the Hunter Valley, but community agitation led by the RDHS resulted in government grants enabling the purchase by Ryde Council. The restored building, opened in 1980, is home to the RDHS.