Colin Mathura-Jeffree dubbed the southern city such after series one of the TV3 show featured sisters Olivia and Lucy Murphy, series two featured twins Elza and Nellie Jenkins, and sister duos turned up at the series three auditions in Dunedin yesterday.
One model hopeful, who brought both her mother and her sister along yesterday, was Sheree Pedersen, of Milton.
Despite having no modelling experience, she has "always loved [the thought of] modelling" and was very excited to audition.
The family has just moved from Perth. Watching Australia's, America's and New Zealand's top model shows inspired her to try out.
She was one of six to be short-listed from the more than 40 who auditioned.
Maryana Petrovskaya (18), of Invercargill, was not successful.
She believed becoming a top model was "every girl's dream".
However, the judges thought her passion lay in acting.
"I expected it [the 'no'] to be for quite different reasons," she said.
The show, which also allows male contestants, presented Matthew Ashley (19) with an opportunity he could not pass up.
He originally came to support a friend but "got swept away in the momentousness of the occasion".
The judges, who have been auditioning throughout New Zealand, were not searching for any particular "look", but were impressed with the quality of models in Dunedin.
Judge Sara Tetro said it was too difficult to search for particular qualities because they never knew who would turn up to auditions.
"We did not expect to get red-haired twins [Elza and Nellie] or a freckly faced girl in a beanie [last season's winner Danielle Hayes]," she said.
The number of hopefuls will be whittled down to 13 for the series. Filming is expected to start within the next month.
