Isaac Archer and John Colethread each received 32 hectares (80 acres) of land on the site of the present Ryde-Parramatta Golf Links, now in West Ryde.

[2] The grants in the Ryde area were originally called Eastern Farms, later Kissing Point, because of a rock shelf in the Parramatta River bed.

Mrs Turner fancied there was a resemblance in the area to her old homeland, and the expatriates began using the name "Ryde", although it was variously called Hunters Hill, Kissing Point and Field of Mars.

[2][4]: 165 At the time Ryde House was built, Governor Sir George Gipps was controlling NSW and there was growing resistance to the inflow of convicts into New South Wales.

His daughter Rebecca Fitzhardinge (see photo below) remembers that part of James business involved the supply of food to several public institutions such as the Orphan School at Parramatta.

Abundant supply of the very purest water and in one of the healthiest positions in the colony commanding the most extensive and beautiful view, interrupted only by the grand background of the different mountains.

The United Kingdom Census of 1901 shows that John and Caroline and their five youngest children were living at 28 London Road, Reigate, a market town in Surrey.

[25] Jane Darvall sold Ryde House in 1878 to merchant John Edye Manning (mainly known for his ownership of Parramatta River Ferries).

The advertisement for the school (shown in picture below) appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald in June 1894 and gave a colourful description of Willandra as follows: Ellen Blundell Pye was born in 1860 in Lathom,[28] a small village in Lancashire, England.

The Sydney Morning Herald in October of that year gives a brief description of a fete organised by the pupils at Miss Pye's school Willandra, Ryde in aid of the Children's Hospital.

[2] In the 1950s Victoria Road was widened, resulting in a loss of a belt of trees associated with neighbouring "Borambil" and may have also affected some garden plantings at Willandra.

This operated until 1970 when the property was bought by Mr Hooper, who closed the service station and opened a second hand car yard The rest of the house was rented for residential use with a succession of tenants.

[5]: 49  Willandra was never without occupants until restoration, but during its 140 years as a freehold property, it suffered at the hands of various owners, and, in its later stages, from neglect and the ravages of the weather.

[2][26]^ The Australian Government funding was a grant under the National Estate program arising from the first Commonwealth legislation enacted to protect Australia's heritage.

The top windows had deteriorated badly as upstairs shutters had been removed by a previous owner and rain from the south and north east had caused rot in the broad cedar sills and architraves.

[2] One of the hardest jobs was ensuring the downpipes, when replaced, did not carry water under the house, which had happened over a period of years causing rising damp to head height on inside walls.

A 2m high timber paling fence with curved tops was erected along Victoria Road and partly around Willandra Street to suggest that this is the rear of the house.

[3] Clive Lucas & Partners won a merit award from the NSW Chapter of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects for their work on Willandra.

The demolition of some 16 houses and buildings, including one heritage item (Borambil) and relocation of another (Westward Cottage) and major earthworks had several effects.

[41] The original curtilage (30 acres including Small's three orchards on his farm) of the house has been severely reduced through subdivisions over time and the context has been dramatically altered.

[2][40]: 3.14 The garden is now much reduced on the original and chiefly consists of a driveway from the south-east across the front of the house past a stone retaining wall and steps (original, with wide steps running parallel to the house's southern (main) verandah), areas of lawn and some fringing tree plantings framing views, being Chinese elm (Ulmus parvifolia) and Norfolk Island hibiscus/white oak/ cow itch tree (Lagunaria patersonae) to the south-east, a large Moreton Bay fig (Ficus macrophylla) to the south-west.

around the edge of the front verandah has been removed due to water damage to the structure but Kaffir lilies (Clivea miniata) have now been planted (as intended) in its place.

The Port Jackson fig (Ficus rubiginosa) on the east side of the verandah remains and a sweet box (Murraya paniculata) hedge has been planted against the picket fence along the eastern boundary (this was intended to be Cape plumbago (P.capensis)).

The rear garden has two plaques, one a commemoration of the 1988 bicentennary and the other in honour of Bill Stacey, the first president of the Ryde District Historical Society which has been placed at the foot of a young gum tree.

Although an archaeologist inspected the site in 8/1999 in relation to proposed excavation for drainage works, he did not report any potential archaeological deposits in the subject area.

[2] The area around the rear of the house has been disturbed due to the building of additions associated with the service station, including a WC in the approximate location of the courtyard.

It has been preserved for future generation as a result of prolonged lobbying by community groups and funding under newly established Federal and State heritage protection legislation.

[2] Willandra is a rare and intact example of a Colonial Georgian residence and was one of the last to be built within the County of Cumberland as farming interest began to extend beyond the inner ring of settlement.

Willanda is historically significance for its central role in the attempt to establish a gentry hegemony in the locality during the 1840s following the end of convictism in NSW, for its associations with attempts to transplantthe customas of the English manor to the colony, for its role in the creation of the Village of Ryde, for reinforcing the locality name of Ryde, for its longassociations with persons such as James Devlin and John Edye Manning and for its identification as an element of the nation's architectural heritage in the 1970s.

Willandra is aesthetically significant as a historic landmark, located in a visually dominant position on the ridge at Ryde, with commanding views of the Parramatta River.