Author, historian , anthropologist and academic , Inga Clendinnen , on the beach at Alma Bay, Magnetic Island , Queensland , with her late husband , John , a philosopher , soaking up the sun , watching scuba divers entering the water . For years the couple escaped the Melbourne cold by living in their island home in Henry Lawson Drive, Horseshoe Bay , the residence now occupied by artists Sharon and Steve Crowe . Inga died September 8 , aged 82. On leaving the island due to John's illness, Inga said she missed the cry of the Curlews. As a result, Linda Wootten , secretary of the ALP Magnetic Island branch and a wildlife carer, sent Inga , then in a retirement home , a special card which emitted the cry of a Curlew when opened . When a nurse opened the card for Inga she got a fright on hearing the distinctive Curlew wail. Photo from book Magnetic Island - A Sense of Place , by photographer and conservationist , Vandhana . More later.
