You have to wonder if Magnetic Island is part of a parallel universe . In a startling statement , a woman declared she had seen none other than the great American novelist and short story writer Ernest Hemingway, or his double, walking about a shopping centre.
An adventurous and literary minded island resident , a researcher with a swag of fabulous stories, who has penned illustrated works on exotic subjects ,some for New Zealand , is the spitting image of Australian playwright David Williamson .
Some years ago, lined up to board a plane at Tullamarine Airport, Melbourne, the tall island man looked across the way and spotted tall Williamson in another queue . Both just stood there- closely examining each other, without speaking..
The ABC recently ran an interview with Williamson which highlighted the effect of COVID-19 on the staging of his latest play. The similarity between the two men was apparent and remarked upon in the Little Darwin den.
Just recently some Americans told the islander there is a person who looks like him in a South Australian vineyard. Like Hemingway , the islander spent time in Africa when he was a young man. In his house are two large photographic panels depicting him during those travels , one in Egypt with the pyramids . He also spent time in the Northern Territory .
