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was extended to the north, and the port cochere and tower added. The house also contained many innovations; it was one of the first in
Australia to be lit by electricity, produced by its own generators, with a full-time electrician to maintain the system, and the fittings included an electrically powered bell system to communicate with the servants quarters and kitchens below stairs.
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On
Frederick's death in 1903, the property was sold to a consortium of real estate developers who had plans to demolish the house and subdivide the land, since Elsternwick at this time was a developing suburb on the outskirts of Melbourne. Adam Anderson remained as Head Gardener but departed in 1903.
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Of particular note in the grounds are the lake, the spectacular iron-framed fernery, the swimming pool and associated ballroom and the stable complex (1868). The rooms of the basement kitchen complex are also of special interest, having been built in the 1880s and then abandoned in 1938 following
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In 1963 the
Commonwealth Government announced their intention to compulsorily acquire the main part of the garden, with the lake and lookout, setting off public protests and long-running legal action by Mrs Jones. She eventually settled with the government, agreeing that, on her death the house and
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on the south side of the house into an arched roofed ballroom that could fit 500, and then adding the current huge shade house for palm trees further to the south. The
Sargoods entertained extensively, with fetes, charitable balls and garden parties. The last changes occurred in 1897 when the house
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style. Mrs Jones also installed a new modern kitchen on the ground level and the original basement kitchen and service areas were closed up, which preserved many of the surviving 19th century features of this section of the house, including the cool room, the wine cellar and the large fuel stove.
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businessman, who successfully carried on his father's business importing softgoods, and was also a politician and philanthropist. In 1868 Frederick and his wife Marion purchased Crown
Allotment 253 and either all, or part of Crown Allotment 260 in the Parish of Prahran, Elsternwick, giving them a
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Louisa (married name, Mrs
Timothy Jones) was a leading figure in the Melbourne social set in the 1930s. She undertook extensive remodelling and renovation of the house to allow her to entertain on a lavish scale. Much of the interior of the house were redecorated, while leaving some Victorian
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the land still in her possession would be bequeathed to the
National Trust allowing to remain intact in perpetuity. She died on 27 July 1972, and the house finally opened to the public in 1974. During the 1970s and 1980s the Vernon Family resided in the gate house.
124:, just outside the built up area of the city, and was soon joined by similar large estates. He named the property after his mother, Emma Rippon, adding 'lea', an old English word for meadow. He commissioned a two-storey, 15 room house designed by architect
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The house was empty for six years, while the developers sold off various parcels of land, particularly the orchards and paddocks. However, before the final carve-up of the estate could be undertaken, the leader of the consortium, Sir
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the installation of a modern kitchen on the ground floor. Today they are a rare surviving
Australian example of a 19th-century kitchen suite; comprising kitchen, scullery, pantries, cool rooms, servants' hall and wine cellar.
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features intact, for example the wallpaper in the entrance hall and corridors (originally embossed in gold) was over-painted in rich cream, while a new dining room featured brocades and tapestry fabrics.
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chain of furniture stores in
Melbourne. The Nathans lived there until Ben's death in 1935. The property then passed to their eldest daughter, Louisa, along with a legacy of £1 million.
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445:"In trust : the first forty years of the National Trust in Victoria 1956-1996 / [text by Mary Ryllis... - Catalogue | National Library of Australia"
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The hallway on the 1st floor (note that image is less than perfect due to the restriction of no flash photography and no camera tripods inside the house)
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to describe the elaborate polychrome patterned brickwork he introduced to
Melbourne, which he said was inspired by the architecture of the
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The Sargood's ballroom was demolished to make way for a lavish Hollywood style swimming pool and a new ballroom in a glamorous 1930s
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Foster, John H. (1989) Victorian Picturesque: The Colonial Gardens of William Sangster. University of Melbourne History Dept. p. 57.
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Murray, Peter R. & Wells, John C. "From sand, swamp and heath...a history of Caulfield". City of Caulfield, 1980. p. 156.
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Ground floor doors leading to servants areas. House decorated for Christmas as photograph was taken in mid December
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in Melbourne, a section of the property was sold by a family member while Louisa was overseas in 1954 to the
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Culture Victoria – story and historical images of Rippon Lea and the families who lived there
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The style of the house has been described as Lombardic Romanesque, a term coined by
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The swimming pool as put in by Louisa, and where the original ballroom once was
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View from the back garden showing the large fernery structure to the right
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total area of 11 hectares (26 acres), located about 8 kilometres from the
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Photo galleries of Rippon Lea Estate and function hire details
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is a heritage-listed historic house and gardens located in
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Official Rippon Lea website operated by the National Trust
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The 5.7 hectares (14 acres) of gardens were maintained.
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It was bought by Ben and Agnes Nathan, who owned the
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325:Inside the fernery as seen in the previous photo
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107:Rippon Lea in 1880
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253:View of the lawns
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66:144°59′58″E
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492:Categories
355:References
63:37°52′45″S
203:Countdown
176:Hollywood
117:Melbourne
46:Australia
38:Melbourne
197:Bellbird
137:Lombardy
42:Victoria
99:History
165:Maples
383:2 May
141:Italy
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