Cultural life inside the Loop

RNZ News

16-05-2025

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Bursting through - but what's the point of all that tunnelling if there's no show to go to?
Photo:
Supplied / City Rail Link
Jack Bourke trained as an operatic tenor.
These days, he makes his living in communications and infrastructure, but he hasn't turned his back on classical music.
His love of opera and the performing arts is one of the drivers behind his work advocating for Auckland's cultural sector as it prepares for the completion of the City Rail Link.
The underground line will connect the central city with Auckland's wider rail network with the potential to deliver tens of thousands of people an hour to stations directly under the waterfront, Aotea Square, and Karangahape Road.
But why spend billions of dollars on a rail line if there's no reason for people to use it?
That's where Bourke comes in. As Head of Strategic Engagement with the company
RCP
, he offers advice to the public and private sector on property and infrastructure projects and he's keen that Auckland city has a beating cultural heart once the City Rail Link is opened - most probably next year.
Bourke spoke to RNZ Concert about his work, what he thinks the central city is missing (it needs more medium-sized performing arts venues) and the vital importance of what are called "third spaces" - the spaces that aren't home or work, but where you go to meet other people: squares, arcades, pubs, theatres, concert halls, sports grounds.
He also spoke about his enduring love of opera and opera singers, including his favourite, Maria Callas.