Location
Rippleside adjoins Drumcondra, 2.5km north of Geelong city on Corio Bay. The locality is part of North Geelong and covers the suburban area bounded by Corio Bay, Victoria Street, Melbourne Road and Rippleside Park.

Description
Rippleside today is a much sought-after residential address. Most of the houses have been renovated in keeping with their history. The few building blocks that have become available have had sympathetically designed new houses built on them. Houses that come onto the market are quickly snapped up. Some of Geelong's most expensive homes are sited in Balmoral Crescent, atop the cliff overlooking the bay. The locality is popular with commuters to Melbourne because it is close to North Geelong railway station and Melbourne Road. A small strip shopping centre serves the needs of residents, but more extensive shopping is available in nearby Geelong West, the city and Corio Village. The extensive Rippleside Park, fronting Corio Bay, adjoins the locality and is a favourite family barbecue, picnic and play venue. Another popular nearby bayside park is St Helens which has extensive swimming, boating, barbecue and playground facilities.

History
Early settlers targeted the area, taking up large tracts of grazing land. The Melbourne to Geelong road ran through North Geelong and by 1854 a hotel and general store had been opened. The North Geelong railway station opened soon after the line began operating in 1857. Pioneering squatter Robert Muirhead left his mark on North Geelong by erecting a huge bluestone mansion and stables in 1858 on a site high above Corio Bay.

Osborne House is regarded as one of Geelong's finest mansions, reflecting the lifestyle of the town's wealthy pastoralists. Much of the locality that is now Rippleside was developed in the last years of the 19th and first few decades of the 20th century. As such, it has many interesting Victorian cottages and Edwardian weatherboard houses. A reclaimed foreshore area was occupied by the Geelong Harbour Trust workshop, which later became the site of Rippleside Ship Repairs. The port's tugs are moored at a pier at Rippleside. Land between Liverpool Street and Bell Parade was once a tip with an open drain. This has become Rippleside Park, one of Geelong's most attractive parks.