Australia claims Kimbra

The Aussies have claimed Kimbra as one of their own. Photo / Supplied

Australia has claimed Kiwi sensation Kimbra.

Fashion bible Vogue Australia features the Hamilton-born songstress in its latest issue, listing her hometown as Melbourne.

Fellow Kiwi musician Ladyhawke also appears in the 16-page spread, which serials the young women who are "taking a stronghold on Australia's musical landscape". The magazine correctly lists Ladyhawke's hometown as Masterton.

Kimbra's high school music teacher Sue Radford is floored by the claim.

"She went to Berkley Intermediate then she came to Hillcrest High School from year 9 all the way through. Her family are very well-liked in the area. ... She's the least Australian person I know. She's not brash. She's cultured, she's sensitive, she's very good at listening ... "

Radford first heard Kimbra sing more than 10 years ago at an audition for a local production.

"I was blown away by her confidence and energy. She had really obvious potential."

Kimbra, now 22, won Best Female Artist at the Australian Recording Industry Awards last year. She has based herself in Melbourne since being discovered by British producer Mark Richardson. She has since picked up a recording contract with Warner Bros, but Radford says Kimbra would not have told Vogue she was Australian.

"She knows where she came from. She comes from a solid, close-knit Waikato family and many of her friends there are people she went to school with."

Kimbra joins a long list of Kiwi icons and celebrities Australia has claimed, including Phar Lap, Split Enz, pavlova and Russell Crowe.