A grand Victorian estate in Melbourne
The Rippon Lea Estate was established in 1868 by Sir Frederick Sargood who made his money on the Victorian goldfields. Not by prospecting for gold but rather by selling everyday goods to the miners.
He had a rather large family with his first wife Marion, they had 9 children. After her death he remarried and had one more daughter. Sir Frederick was quite the visionary and he designed the underground watering system that still operates today. He died in 1903 and Rippon Lea was sold as his second wife with their daughter returned to England. The last family to own Rippon Lea bought it in 1910 and it was inherited by their daughter Louisa who carried out the last refurbishments on the estate. She added a swimming pool, the upstairs ballroom and modernised the furnishings to 1930s glamour.
Louisa Jones the final owner sold some land to the Australian public television network for their new studios in the early 1960s. They then put applied for a Compulsory Acquisition order to acquire more land for a carpark. This was in 1963, Louisa had enough money that she took them to court and every time she lost a ruling or appeal, she just appealed again and tied them up in court until she died in 1974. She had willed the estate to the National Trust and the land couldn't be touched. So good for her!
The National Trust runs the estate, so if you're a member entrance is free. You're free to roam around the gardens but the entrance to the house is by guided tour only. Just look up the times of the tours and sign up as you enter the estate. It was great to learn so much about the house and the estate as well as the people who had lived there, so the tour was well worth doing.
To the right of the picture is a section of wallpaper that has been restored to its original form. Sir Frederick Sargood had the house wallpapered in gold leaf wallpaper. Over the years it had gone black and it made the house very dark. When Louisa Jones redecorated in the 1930s, she simply had the wallpaper painted cream. The National Trust (to huge expense!) has restored a section next to the front door so visitors can get an idea of what the interior of the house looked like when it was built.
While the original estate had been much larger, there are still 14 acres to wander around in, and that space includes a pond which is part of the irrigation system for the gardens.
The estate can be hired for major events, on the day I visited there were people setting up for a 40th birthday celebration on the side veranda.
The area by the lake is quite lovely as there are bridges taking you across the lake and there's a lookout tower that Sir Frederick built to see his ships arrive in Melbourne. (With the goods he would sell!)
The Fernery
It is quite easy to visit the Rippon Lea from central Melbourne. I caught the tram, Route 67 from Swanston Street and got off at stop 47, the stops are announced, it's easy to work out which one is stop 47. From the tramstop it's a short walk and it's signposted, the main gate is rather ornate so it's unmissable!
Comments
Post a Comment