On March 6, 2006 Coetzee became an Australian citizen. Following the ceremony, Coetzee said that "I was attracted by the free and generous spirit of the people, by the beauty of the land itself and—when I first saw Adelaide—by the grace of the city that I now have the honour of calling my home."[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]