Rippon Lea Estate

Rippon Lea Estate is a Victorian mansion with 33 rooms set within 7 hectares of ornately designed gardens in Elsternwick. The property layout combines a grand lake, a fern-filled greenhouse, fruit-growing areas, and extensive flower gardens, all organized around the main residence.

A wealthy merchant named Frederick Sargood established this property in 1868 and named it after his mother. The original estate was roughly twice its current size and operated as a diverse working property before later focusing on its role as a garden retreat.

The estate's name honors Emma Rippon, the founder's mother, and the gardens display typical Victorian preferences for ornamental structures and layered planting schemes. Visitors can still observe how this landscape reflects 19th-century ideals of wealth and taste, with carefully arranged flower beds and themed zones.

The estate is open daily to visitors and you can walk the gardens at your own pace. The paths move through different zones, and there is ample shade and seating areas to rest and take in the surroundings.

The mansion was among the first Australian residences to produce its own electricity, showing early technical innovation. Beneath the gardens runs an ingenious underground irrigation system from the 1800s that efficiently watered the entire property.