Roseville was first settled from the water in two directions: from the Lane Cove River and from Middle Harbour. Around 1814, William Henry, recognised as one of Ku-ring-gai’s first settlers, began farming on land adjoining the Lane Cove River, near the present Fuller's Bridge. In 1821, the first official grants of land were made west from the ridge to Michael Fitzgerald and William Henry. Henry sold his grant before 1828, and eventually it became market gardens, leased to Chinese gardeners.

The first settler to the east was Daniel Dering Mathew, timber-getter, merchant, architect and magistrate. In 1819 he acquired a 400 acre grant he named the Clanville Estate, where he felled timber and farmed. The name of the estate remains as that of one of the best known roads in Roseville.

Roseville is home to many well known specialists from the nearby Royal North Shore hospital. It is also favoured by executives from many major companies.

There are many excellent restaurants in Roseville, including the long-established French restaurant La Belle Helene, Basy’s Restaurant (another well known ‘stayer’), A Taste of Italy, Café Zanbala (for that before or after movie dinner or snack), El Karim Restaurant, and Red Leaf Chinese Restaurant.

Roseville is ‘home’ to the popular girls’ school Roseville College and Roseville East Primary School. It is also near primary and high schools in surrounding suburbs of Chatswood and Lindfield. Local preschools include Poppins Kindergarten & Day Nursery, Roseville Kids Care and Roseville Preschool Kindergarten. The Ku-ring-gai Campus of the University of Technology Sydney is also nearby.

Roseville is a mix of period and contemporary homes, ranging from majestic Victorian homes, charming Californian bungalows, modern executive homes, classic older style apartments and contemporary townhouses and apartments.

Roseville is just five minutes from the Chatswood shopping hub, with the Westfield and Chatswood Chase shopping centres, featuring department stores such as Grace Bros and David Jones, supermarkets, Hoyts cinemas, and specialty stores. And opposite Roseville Railway Station is a quaint shopping strip featuring cafes, delicatessen, newsagent, grocery store and liquor store.

Roseville has many beautiful parks and sporting ovals and is flanked by the Lane Cove National Park and Garigal National Park, which boast many picnic spots and bushwalking trails. If you like fishing, Middle Harbour is a popular spot, and you can moor your boat at Roseville Marina. For the golfers, Roseville Golf Course is a tranquil course to play, and tennis players have the Roseville Tennis Centre or Pro Ace Tennis Academy. The long-established Roseville Cinema is also popular with locals – particularly on Saturday evenings when their renowned organist plays before the movies – it’s a real tradition.

There are also many local childrens’ sporting clubs nearby, including the Lindfield Junior Cricket club and Lindfield Soccer Club.

Places of worship include St Andrews Anglican Church, St Barnabas Anglican Church, New Church Sydney, St Lukes Presbyterian Church and Roseville Uniting Church.

Just 13km from the city centre, Roseville is on the train line and is well serviced by the local bus service Shore Link, with buses travelling to the city, North Sydney and Chatswood, and connecting train stations on the North Shore.