In October, Jacksonville will celebrate its 150th anniversary.
Its mayor, Bruce W. Garrett, has sent an invitation to Lawrence as Jacksonville's sister city, to attend the celebrations.
The invitation came via Jack and Beverly Helvie, who travelled to New Zealand on the cruise ship Nautica.
"We decided to take this cruise to New Zealand - we are retired and thought it would probably be more fun to take this trip while we are still alive," Mr Helvie said.
Jacksonville shared a similar history to Lawrence, with gold discovered there in 1851, Mr Helvie said.
"Within a few weeks, there were a few thousand people. By 1859, Jacksonville was the most populated town."
The population now sits at about 2500, but with the town of Lawrence invited to "come to Jacksonville to visit us", it could be set to rise in October.
Roger Cotton, deputy chairman of the Lawrence-Tuapeka Community Board, said Lawrence would probably reciprocate with an invitation for Jacksonville to attend its 150th celebrations in 2011.
"Our histories are very similar. The discovery of gold is what our townships are founded on," he said.
Mr Cotton said the town might consider sending representatives to Jacksonville to extend a formal invitation.
