A British backpacker who wrote a romantic note to locate a handsome stranger after spotting him on a New Zealand beach has finally met her Romeo for the first time.

Sarah Milne, from Glasgow, left a handmade poster for the man, who she saw in Picton on Friday and described as 'shirtless, wearing black shorts with stars tattooed on his torso and running with a curly, bouncy and blonde dog'. In her note, entitled 'Is this you?', she invited the mystery stranger to meet her on the same beach on Tuesday.

But the message soon became a source of huge online interest with the identity of both the author and its intended target generating unexpected publicity.

Then on Tuesday at 2pm, in front of a gathering crowd waiting to see the two finally introduce themselves, William Scott Chalmers came forward to meet the note's author, Milne, an artist, on the picturesque foreshore.

Milne, who is originally from the west coast of Scotland, studied at Glasgow School of Arts before backpacking in New Zealand where she will stay for another two months. She said that she had not been expecting the hype surrounding her handwritten note.

Scroll down for video

Love at first sight? Sarah Milne, a backpacker from Scotland, meets William Chalmers, after her note brought them together

They finally meet: Mr Chalmers met Milne just after 2pm and asked if she wanted to go somewhere quiet and have a drink

Love note: The handmade message Milne used to launch a public appeal to find a man after a brief encounter on Friday

Mr Chalmers, who brought a bottle of champagne with him, walked over to where Milne was sitting and said 'Hello, I'm William, you know you could have just asked for my number.'

'Let's go somewhere and have a drink away from everyone,' he told her, as the crowd watching their date clapped and cheered.

Mr Chalmers came forward on Sunday morning to reveal himself as the mystery man, and told Daily Mail Australia that he planned on heading down to the picturesque spot to ask his brunette admirer on a date for the evening.

The New Zealander, who works at a local burger joint, said that he first heard of the poster when his housemate came home at 3am on Saturday night and woke him up.

'He was carrying on and telling me about a poster that two German girls had told him about that described me,' he said.

'He knew it was me because I'm the only guy in Picton who has star tattoos, Johnny-Bravo hair and a labradoodle.'

Mr Chalmers said he and his housemate drove down to the shore in the dark to try and find the note, and that even when he saw it for himself, he had a hard time believing it was real.

Milne was greeted at the picturesque meeting spot with great fanfare after their story had generated huge publicity

The Glasgow artist was greeted as she stepped off her ferry to a sign that said 'Here's to a happy ending'.

'Of course I'm going down. But just going up to her and asking to chat is a bit out of the question with all the attention, so I'm just going to have to skip a step and ask if she wants to have dinner tonight,' Mr Chalmers told Daily Mail Australia.

'I finish work at 2pm and I'll see if she wants to have dinner or a drink at maybe seven.

'I'm not sure if the poor girl knows what she's gotten herself into. It's just gotten so big, I've gotten messages from friends overseas saying that they've read the story.'

The poster in question was tied to a pole down at the shorefront and was also posted on Beachcomber Fun Cruises Facebook page on Saturday.

'I was sitting on the grass on Friday watching the sea... you were playing with your dog. You ran past me and smiled,' it said.

'Would you like to go for a drink/coffee/walk??? I'm in Wellington just now, my ferry arrives back in Picton on Tuesday 3rd.

'I'm in town for 1 night only... But let's see how things go... On the off-chance you are single, remember who I am and would like to meet for a drink/coffee/walk.

Mr Chalmers has revealed himself as the mystery man who captured the heart of the mystery woman

He said he was looking forward to Tuesday and meeting his mystery girl

'I'll be sitting on the grass, watching the sea from 1-1.30pm onwards on Tuesday... Maybe you'll run past again?!?'

Mr Chalmers said his mother had called him because she had been told of the sign and thought it was such a coincidence that the man described in the sign had star tattoos as well.

'When I told her that it was me, she started freaking out and telling everyone in the office,' he said.

'She's all for me going down. She told me that she didn't raise me to not show up, so that's what I'm going to do.

'It's a bit overwhelming, I've never had something like this happen before. In high school if you passed a note the teacher would just take it off you.'

Mr Chalmers said while he did not know who the woman was, he remembered smiling at a particular woman that day on the beach.

'It's all a bit exciting, it's going to be a big day,' he said.

The signs were posted on Beachcomber Fun Cruises Facebook page and has sparked an online debate

'Picton is a pretty small town and from the amount of people who have told me they're going to come down and watch what happens it sounds like everyone I know will be there.'

Milne may have had some inkling of the stir the note has caused, pleading with the public to not have the sign removed from the premises.

'In the spirit of happy endings, give this sign a chance to be seen by the right eyes,' she penned.

'It may even bring a dozen or so people back on Tuesday, intrigued... who is this girl with the long brown hair and the boy with the star tattoos and the dog and will they meet for a drink?

'I will, on my return to Picton on Tuesday, remove it myself... Whatever the ending may be. Thank you!'

Mr Chalmers promised he would keep the fascinated followers of the real-life fairytale up to date with the outcome of their evening.