Sarah Rippon was a highly skilled dress and mantle maker at a time when the profession demanded long hours, intricate workmanship and the patience to satisfy exacting customers. Yet through her trade, Sarah, who never married, was able to support herself throughout her entire life.
Born about 1824, she was the younger child of John and Elizabeth Rippon. It is possible that while her older brother Matthew emigrated to Australia, Sarah remained in England to care for their ageing parents.
In 1863, at thirty-nine years of age, Sarah chose to follow her brother to Victoria, travelling alone aboard the Alfred as an unassisted passenger. She settled in the Colac district where Matthew, his wife Sarah and their nine children had made their home. Over the following years Sarah appears to have remained closely connected to her brother’s family, becoming a familiar presence in the lives of her nieces and nephews.
As a dress and mantle maker, Sarah provided an important service to the women of Colac, though the business was not always easy. Newspaper reports show her appearing in the local Police Court, determinedly pursuing unpaid accounts and contesting customer complaints.
In 1898, Sarah, aged seventy-four, was found peacefully deceased in her armchair, having died suddenly of cardiac arrest. Although her burial location in the Colac Cemetery is unknown, the affection shared between the Rippons is perhaps reflected by Sarah’s name later being inscribed on the same tombstone as her brother and sister-in-law.
Research by Raye Loughnan
Story by Lynne Johnston
Narrated by Deb Baillie

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