Rippon Lea Estate - 2 February
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This path leads up to the Rippon Lea Estate; lined on both sides with mature trees and well established undergrowth giving an almost tropical appearance on a bright sunny day.
Reflecting a 30's decor, the previous gold brocade wall paper was painted white to match the predominantly white furnishings of this room.
Master Bedroom Breakfast Table
Elegant breakfast setting.
The swimming pool was added in the 1930's and is styled in the style of High fashion in Hollywood.
There is a few kilometres of pathway in the Rippon Lea garden. What a beautiful place to stroll.
All the stained glass panels at Rippon Lea were designed an made in Melbourne.
Added to the north side of the estate, the conservatory leads off the lounge providing a perfect environment for tropical plants.
I was amazed that the duck around the lake seemed totally at easy with people as long as you don't move too suddenly. I love Weeping Willows. Its reflection doubled the beauty.
Louisa Jones inherited the estate from her father, Ben Nathan, along with substantial financial resources. She undertook extensive remodelling and renovation of the house to allow her to entertain on a lavish scale. The interior of the house was redecorated in a restrained classical 1930s style, drawing heavily on Hollywood film style of the 1930s and Syrie Maugham's "all white room" as influences. These renovations substantially altered most of the surviving Victorian features of the house—for example, the wallpaper in the entrance hall and corridors (originally embossed in gold) was over-painted in white, as were the marble columns around the main entrance.
This view shows the stairway leading from the rear of the main floor hallway to the second floor.
This view is from the lookout tower directly above the waterfall.
I found this place to be very peaceful. The sound of the falls is almost hypnotic and the song birds seem also to find this a perfect place to blend their songs.
This extensive mansion employed 7 maids, a butler, 7 gardeners, a coachman and a groom.
Master Bedroom Breakfast Table
Breakfast and afternoon tea was served at this little table which sits in an alcove of the Master bedroom. It provides a lovely outlook onto the extensive gardens.
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. 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 Thomas Bent, died and the property was put on the market in 1910. It was bought by Ben and Agnes Nathan, who owned the Maples chain of furniture stores in Melbourne.
Built for Frederick Sargood, and named after his mother's maiden name, Rippon, with "lea" being an English word for meadow. The style of the house has been described as "polychromatic romanesque" and the architect, Joseph Reed, was said to have been inspired by the architecture of the Lombardy region of northern Italy.
