Rippon Lea Estate

Rippon Lea Estate is a National Trust-listed 19th-century mansion and 14-acre heritage garden in Elsternwick, Melbourne, Victoria. Built in 1868 for politician and merchant Frederick Sargood and later owned by Benjamin Nathan, it is one of Australia's finest surviving Victorian estates. Notable for its polychrome brick mansion, extensive pleasure gardens, lake, fernery and orchard, it is listed on the National Heritage List.

Visitors can explore the grand two-storey mansion on guided tours featuring original Victorian interiors, furnishings and ballroom, and wander 14 acres of heritage gardens including a lake with waterfall and grotto, fernery, rose garden, orchard, and expansive lawns. The estate offers self-guided garden walks, seasonal displays, a gatehouse visitor centre, café and gift shop in a tranquil suburban setting.

Built in 1868 for Frederick Sargood, a prominent merchant and politician, and substantially extended in the 1880s to designs by Joseph Reed. Later owned by Benjamin Nathan and his family, who bequeathed the estate to the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) in 1963. It is one of the earliest National Trust properties in Australia and is listed on the National Heritage List and Victorian Heritage Register as a rare intact 19th-century estate.

Represents a leading example of Victorian-era suburban estate design, architecture and gardenesque landscape in Australia, illustrating 19th-century wealth, taste and horticultural practices. The mansion, gardens, and outbuildings demonstrate colonial domestic life and are valued for heritage education, community events and conservation.