The Gorman family, originally from Germany, instead of providing a statement to Mayor Tamah Alley to read about why they chose New Zealand home decided to give the mayor a limerick poem to read instead, a first for Mrs Alley.
Ines Gorman said she decided to write the poem to tell the story of how her family came to be in New Zealand.
Mrs Gorman, her husband Matt and six children moved to Dunedin 12 years ago, coming from Germany.
"I learned a lot, enjoyed long walks with hubby and kids, and dogs by the sea," the poem read.
Mr and Mrs Gorman moved to Clyde with three of six of their children eight years ago. The other three stayed in Dunedin to work and study.
"I knew it was time to reach out and become a citizen, not just on paper but in my heart, too," the poem finished.
Mr Gorman said in a separate statement also read by Mrs Alley, that after being married for 30 years it would not have felt right becoming a citizen without Mrs Gorman.
"Now that, finally, the land of her birth allows dual citizenship, we can together take this important step for our next 30 years."
Alongside Mr and Mrs Gorman, daughter Sara also received her citizenship at the ceremony.
After the ceremony Mrs Gorman said she wrote the poem to be a bit different and a bit funny.
Other new citizens are: Lauren-Emma Reynoldson-Ross (Australia), Ashton Michael Rhodes (Australia), Martin Ian Milne (England), Manfred Dirr (Germany), Lara Christine Halcrow (Germany), Brigitte Meyer (Germany), Abhinav Sharma (India), Gillian Swinton (Scotland), Conrad, Jayden, Kylie and Louise Charyll Herion (South Africa), Brian Desmond, Caleb Liam and Mandy Kriel (South Africa), Neil Darren and Rosalind Helen Heathcote (United Kingdom), Laura Macrae Randall (United Kingdom).
