From the late 1930s Carrick Hill was the home of one of Adelaide's most prestigious couples, Adelaide heiress Ursula (nee Barr-Smith) and successful businessman Edward Hayward. Their foothills mansion overlooking the city was alive with social gatherings at which guests from all walks of life were welcomed and entertained. Works of art by such well-known names as Australian artists Russell Drysdale, Nora Heysen and William Dobell, British artists Stanley Spencer and Jacob Epstein, and French artists Paul Gauguin and Auguste Renoir hung amid seventeenth and eighteenth century oak furnishings and panelling. The fragrance of freshly gathered flowers filled the stately rooms.

In Carrick Hill: A portrait Christopher Legoe, Bill Hayward, Richard Heathcote and Jane Hylton tell the story of Australia's most intact twentieth-century house museum, bequeathed by Ursula and Edward Hayward to the people of South Australia and the nation. The second edition of the book includes Georgina Downey's insights into the interior design and decoration of the house, plus tales from the attic and a gallery of images by master photographer Mick Bradley that truly create a portrait of this unique place. Historical images and reproductions of many art works take us into a bygone era of luxurious living, generosity and style.