Rippon Lea - changing times

Continuing the story of the now deceased Fred's house and what became of it after his demise.

No that's not his ghost - it's my hubby.

Lady Sargood now had her own daughter, five step sons and four step daughters to care for.

So she sold the house, contents and exotic plants for £20 000 even though the property was said to be valued at over £600 000.

Then she took her daughter back to England and never returned.
I'm not sure what happened to the other children, though I have read about one son, Frederick, who moved to Sydney and became a prominent retailer.
But back to the house.

The property was purchased by a syndicate headed by a man named Thomas Bent.
Tom never lived in the house, but rather used it for entertaining and charity events. 

He subdivided and sold off parcels of land though was careful to maintain the garden.

Tom was forced from office in 1908 for involvement in land scandals and died a year later while still under investigation.

A bit sad, but at least it saved the property from being divided up even more.

Who took ownership of the mansion then?

Rippon Lea, Melbourne - May 2016