Rippon Lea Estate is a house museum and cultural and historical site in the Melbourne suburb of Elsternwick. In 1868, Melbourne politician and businessman Frederick Sargood purchased 42 acres of land 8 kilometres from the Victorian state capital, on which he on which he erected a luxurious two-storey mansion, laid out a garden with greenhouses and orangeries and dug an artificial lake.
From the very beginning, the house caused genuine admiration from all who saw it - architect Joseph Reed is said to have modelled the design on the architecture the architecture of the Italian region of Lombardy. In addition, Rippon Lee was one of Australia's of the first homes in Australia to be lit by electricity generated by its own generators.
Frederick Sargood's family lived in the house until the death of its founder in 1903. Over the years, the house was remodelled and expanded several times, most notably in notably, an outbuilding tower was built in 1897. After Frederick's death, the house and the surrounding grounds were sold, and for six years the luxurious mansion sat empty.
In 1910 it was bought by Ben and Agnes Nathan, businessmen from Melbourne. Then, by inheritance to their daughter Louise Jones, a prominent figure in Melbourne social life, who undertook a major renovation of the house. She decided to decorate the interiors in the "Hollywood" style of the early 1930s: the gold mouldings on the walls in the entrance hall and corridor were replaced by marble paintings. "under marble", the ornate dance hall built by Sargood was replaced by a swimming pool and ballroom. Fortunately, Mrs Jones has retained the garden and some parts of the of the house from the second half of the 19th century - the pantry, the wine cellar, the oven.
In 1956, the Victorian state government bought part of the mansion and housed a television studio for Australian Broadcasting Corporation. But it wasn't until 1972, Rippon Lea, which is of historical value, came fully into the to the state. Today it is open to visitors: here you can wander along the artificial lake, visit the fern greenhouse, swimming pool and walk through the house itself. Of particular interest is the kitchen, which is a rare example of a fully preserved Australian kitchen interior from the late 19th century. Weddings and other events are often held at the Manor House.
