Ryde District Historical Society

17/06/2026

This intriguing item is a Knife Cleaner "The Servant's Friend" manufactured by Spong and Co. London, who boasted that one of their mincing machines was owned by "Her Most Gracious Queen Victoria".

Our Open Day on Sunday 21 June focuses on Then and Now, the way it was, the way it is around our district. There are many items on display including this Knife Cleaner.

Before stainless steel, knives needed to be polished with a device such as this. The knife cleaner could be circa 1895 to 1930. It would have been mounted on two wooden supports or screwed to the table top and probably cleaned between one and three knives using the friction of leather pads and emery powder to clean the knife blades.

11am to 2pm at Willandra House, enter from Willandra Street, Ryde.

15/06/2026

1958, North Ryde and suburban development pushes ahead at Lane Cove Road near Allengrove Cres. A Britstand motor grader busy levelling and shaping the road surface, cutting drainage lines through the muddy conditions. The view is looking towards Paul St and Epping Road. Lots of things to note in this image, the grader made in the 1950s by the British Standard Machinery Company in Sydney, the shape of the telegraph poles and road lights and rough road conditions. The lone pedestrian in his felt hat and long coat almost looks like a character from an old Australian black and white film, carefully navigating the mud as progress rolls on beside him. But he is not a lone pedestrian, he happens to be "Ganger" (foreman) Mr. Doyle.

There is something else that is in plain view in this image and we are certain will stir many memories in our followers who grew up in North Ryde in this era. On the right side of the image is a building with a sign on the side "Diggers Widows' Stall".

Does anyone remember this and have memories of going in there? We understand it was run by Mrs Lette?

13/06/2026

Open days at our headquarters at Willandra are always fun learning days. Sunday 21 June from 11am to 2pm. Our focus is on "Then and Now, the way we were and the items we used to use." These clothes irons and more are on display, as well as images, publications for sale and beautiful historic Willandra to explore. We also have a movie reel showing "Images of Ryde District".

These two examples of clothes irons in days gone by were used in the district and of course many other parts of Australia. Come along and learn all about them.

11/06/2026

What’s in Your Garden? 🌿 Uncovering the curious and the quirky across our district.

09/06/2026

Let's focus on another of the Ryde District's historic houses. This time it's "Warrelda" at Arthur St, Ryde, built around 1880 as a Victorian-style large farmhouse. It's earliest history is associated with the Benson family and orchards. It was built for John and Ruth Benson and their family. The original building dates to c. 1875 and was later extended. In 1891 Warrelda was described as "situated on the highest ground in Ryde, commanding an uninterrupted view of Sydney". In June 1913, the local newspaper, "The Cumberland Argus and Fruit Growers Advocate" described Warrelda's orchards as "owned and worked by John Benson and Son.... one of the best known orchards in North Ryde."

Harold Benson inherited Warrelda in 1921 along with seven acres of surrounding land on the corner of Quarry Rd and Arthur St. Soon after he and his family moved into Warrelda, he was employed as Ryde's Stationmaster, previously having been Stationmaster at Carlton in southern Sydney. He had little time for farming and leased the property to Chinese market gardeners.

In 1946 Harold sold Warrelda and seven acres of land to Italian Market Gardener Giovanni Cessario who moved to Ryde from Seaforth. The following year, Giovanni sold 3.5 acres and a humble single storey weatherboard cottage to his brother-in-law who established his own market garden on the site of the corner of Quarry Rd and what is now Lavarack St. Giovanni was a successful market gardener and also built accommodation quarters on the property to house new Italian migrants who lived there until they had the funds to purchase their own house or land. Giovanni's family lived in Warrelda which was later inherited by his eldest daughter who remained in the house until her death in 2021.

The house and surrounding land have been sold and it's future is unknown. Warrelda will always be remembered as a large functional farmhouse and gathering place for family celebrations held by both the Benson and Cessario families and their descendants.

07/06/2026

Open Day at Willandra. Then and Now, the way we were and the items we used to use.
Sunday 21 June 11am till 2pm

07/06/2026

“What’s in Your Garden? 🏡 Uncovering the curious and the quirky across our district.”

Not your typical backyard addition. Was spotted at East Ryde, when it existed and captured for our database to preserve the memory!

05/06/2026

View these two items plus many more at our Open Day on Sunday 21 June from 11am to 2pm at historic Willandra, 770 Victoria Rd, Ryde - enter from Willandra Street off Belmore Street. Free entry, lots to see and do. We are highlighting "Then and Now" items and pictorial display.

Picture the washing day back "Then", a laborious chore. Washboards were usually made with a rectangular wooden frame in which a series of ridges were mounted, usually wooden or metal. Clothes were soaked in hot soapy water in a washtub or a sink. The clothes would be squeezed by hand then rubbed against the ridged surface of the washboard to force the soapy cleansing fluid through the clothes to carry away dirt. Clothes would then be rinsed and squeezed by hand again and hung to dry. How many of these Rinso packets were needed to do a large family wash?? Was there powder residue left on the clothes? By the way, this packet in the image contains the original powder!

We all know what the "Now" is - electric washing machines, press a few buttons and the machine expends the detergent, agitates away the dirt, rinses and spins dry. Liquid, tablet or paper sheet detergent easily dissolved in the machine.

03/06/2026

Dialling back the clock to 2002 when "Woollies" West Ryde looked like this! And that iconic old logo? Still hanging on at Woolworths at Eastwood Centre these days earning recognition across many social media platforms!

01/06/2026