Rippon Lea Estate facts for kids
Rippon Lea Estate is a special old house and gardens in Elsternwick, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It's like a big, beautiful time capsule! The National Trust of Australia looks after it, making sure it stays safe for everyone to enjoy. This amazing place was added to the Australian National Heritage List in 2006, which means it's super important to Australia's history.
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A Look Back: Rippon Lea's Story
Rippon Lea was built for a very successful businessman named Sir Frederick Sargood. He was a politician and also helped many people. In 1868, Frederick and his wife Marion bought a large piece of land. It was about 26 acres (10.5 hectares) and located outside the busy part of Melbourne.
How Rippon Lea Got Its Name
Sir Frederick named his new property "Rippon Lea" after his mother, Emma Rippon. The word 'lea' is an old English word for a meadow or a grassy field. So, it means "Rippon's Meadow."
Building the House and Gardens
Sir Frederick hired a famous architect, Joseph Reed, to design his home. It was a big, two-storey house with 15 rooms. Around the house, they created a huge, beautiful garden. It had glasshouses, vegetable gardens, and even fruit orchards.
The gardens were very special because they collected rainwater. This meant the estate could get all the water it needed by itself! By the late 1870s, Rippon Lea had grown to 45 acres (18 hectares). The kitchen garden alone was 2 acres (0.8 hectares)!
Garden Changes Over Time
In 1881, a garden expert named William Sangster helped redesign parts of the garden. Then, in 1882, a Head Gardener named Adam Anderson arrived from England. In 1883, the lakes were made much bigger, and a hill with a lookout point was added.
The House's Unique Style
The house itself has a unique style called Lombardic Romanesque. This means it uses colourful brick patterns, inspired by buildings in northern Italy. Over the years, the house was made even bigger. A large room for parties, called a ballroom, was added. They also built a huge shade house for palm trees.
The Sargoods loved to entertain guests. They hosted many parties, charity events, and garden gatherings. Rippon Lea was also very modern for its time. It was one of the first homes in Australia to have electric lights! It even had its own power generators and an electrician to keep everything running. There was also an electric bell system to call the servants.
New Owners and Big Changes
After Sir Frederick passed away in 1903, the property was sold. Developers wanted to split up the land and build new houses. The house was empty for six years while parts of the land were sold off.
In 1910, a couple named Ben and Agnes Nathan bought Rippon Lea. They owned a famous furniture store chain called Maples. After Ben's death in 1935, their daughter, Louisa, inherited the estate.
Louisa, also known as Mrs. Timothy Jones, was a popular person in Melbourne's social scene. She made many changes to the house to host grand parties. She redecorated much of the inside, giving it a fresh, modern look while keeping some of the old features.
A Hollywood Touch
Louisa made a big change by replacing the old ballroom with a fancy, Hollywood-style swimming pool. She also built a new ballroom in a glamorous 1930s style. A new kitchen was installed on the ground floor. This meant the old basement kitchen, built in the 1880s, was closed off. This helped preserve many of its original 19th-century features, like the cool room and wine cellar. The beautiful 14-acre (5.6-hectare) gardens were still carefully looked after.
Rippon Lea and the Olympics
In 1954, a part of the property was sold to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). This was to build a new television studio complex for the 1956 Olympic Games held in Melbourne. These studios later became the ABC's main home in Melbourne. Many famous TV shows, like Bellbird and Countdown, were made there.
Saving Rippon Lea for Everyone
In 1963, the government wanted to buy a large part of the garden, including the lake. Louisa fought against this for a long time. Eventually, she agreed that after she passed away, the house and the remaining land would be given to the National Trust. This way, Rippon Lea would stay complete and open for everyone to visit forever. Louisa died in 1972, and the house opened to the public in 1974.
What to See at Rippon Lea Today
When you visit Rippon Lea, there are many interesting things to explore:
- The beautiful lake.
- The amazing iron-framed fernery, a special greenhouse for ferns.
- The swimming pool and the ballroom next to it.
- The old stables from 1868.
- The basement kitchen complex: This is a rare example of a 19th-century kitchen. It includes the kitchen, scullery (for washing dishes), pantries, cool rooms, servants' hall, and wine cellar. It's like stepping back in time!
Images for kids
- Other photos of Rippon Lea
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The front door of Rippon Lea
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View of the lawns
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View of the house from the lawn
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The swimming pool as put in by Louisa, and where the original ballroom once was
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The hallway on the 1st floor
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Ground floor doors leading to servants areas. House decorated for Christmas
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View from the back garden showing the large fernery structure to the right
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Inside the fernery as seen in the previous photo
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The small boat house on the lake
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A wrought iron seat by the lake
