Ryde District, what stories there are to tell!
Visit Willandra for displays of memorabilia of Ryde’s history. Images of Ryde’s origins and history will be on display.
Visit Willandra, an 1840s Georgian home, on Sunday 16 April from 11am to 2pm. Built by James Devlin on land granted to John Small in 1794 and saved from demolition by the community in the 1970s. Willandra had been a house, then a service station. A private buyer proposed to demolish, remove and rebuild the house in the Hunter Valley, however community agitation led by the Ryde District Historical Society resulted in Federal and State government grants enabling the purchase of the house by Ryde Municipal Council. The restored building was opened in 1980 and is home to the Ryde District Historical Society.
See our display of our WW1 and WW2 service people and the stories they tell.
During Open Day you can explore the house and its views of the Parramatta River, watch a continuous digital display of images of Ryde – then and now, see what’s in our Archives and purchase RDHS publications.