History

The area between Parramatta and Lane Cove Rivers was originally, known by its Aboriginal name Wallumatta. The aboriginal name survives in a local park, the Wallumatta Nature Reserve, located at the corner of Twin and Cressy roads, North Ryde.

Macquarie Park is named for Governor Lachlan Macquarie (1762–1824) a British military officer and colonial administrator, who served as the Governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821. The area that is now Macquarie Park was part of the suburb of North Ryde from the late 19th century. The area was once filled by market gardens, poultry farms, and vast tracts of bushland, with many beautiful picnic spots and waterfalls.

The mid-1960s saw the establishment of Macquarie University and the 'Macquarie Park Employment Area' which saw the rezoning of 'Green Belt' bushland to allow for industrial activities. The initial concept for Macquarie Park was based on the idea of a similar hi-tech industrial area surrounding Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. The goal being to provided for the interaction between industries and the University.

During the 1970s companies such as Amalgamated Wireless Australasia Limited, Beiersdorf, Racal and Universal Press located their corporate headquarters in the area. Macquarie Park has since gained a reputation of being a leading high-tech industrial area in Australia. It attracts many local and international companies from high-tech fields including electronic, scientific, computing, medical, communication, pharmaceutical and business supply solutions.