Originally published in Waikato Times, Monday 19 January 2026.
By Mike Mather.
Former GP Linda Rademaker has been a tireless advocate for the Waikato Regional Theatre. The artwork on the wall behind her is a photographic work by Sung Hwan Bobby Park titled Ancestor Portrait, which earned the runner-up prize in the 2023 National Contemporary Art Award competition. PHOTO: Christel Yardley / WAIKATO TIMES.
Every successful cause, campaign or initiative owes that success to the devoted supporters, the faithful who champion it.
In the case of the BNZ Theatre, Linda Rademaker is one of the most tirelessly dedicated of those devotees.
The former Hamilton GP was a member of the “campaign cabinet” - a group of community volunteers brought together by the philanthropic organisation Momentum Waikato, when a new theatre for the city was merely an aspiration.
The group met, planned, and networked for several years, with the goal of making that aspiration a reality.
Rademaker’s inclusion was not by chance. Her background included a similar role, co-chairing the Waikato Medical Research Foundation’s “medical team of influence”.
That group, comprising senior professionals from a range of health disciplines, were charged with reaching out to organisations, medical trusts and people throughout the region, encouraging financial support and endorsement for numerous scientific projects aimed at improving and saving lives.
Similarly, the new theatre has been likened by some to a replacement of a vital organ, a new heart for the city.
Rademaker also took the opportunity to lead by example in the theatre fundraising efforts, contributing a substantial amount of her own money to the project.
The reason why, she says, was because she could clearly see the benefits of establishing a new facility in the central city, rather than refurbishing or rebuilding on the site of the now-demolished Founders Theatre.
“But we all can remember how many groups used Founders - how many different events it hosted. This new facility will be, physically and functionally, a much better one than that theatre ever was.
“I’m really looking forward to walking in on that first night, and just feeling the buzz and the excitement.”
Rademaker said the theatre project had “been a fabulous thing to be involved in ... When we were starting out, $80 million seemed like a lot of money - and of course it was.”
“A lot of us [in the campaign cabinet] had been involved in fund-raising for all kinds of other projects over the years. What we all had in common was ... an affinity for the arts, or some kind of involvement with the arts.”
The campaign cabinet was just part of the effort, Rademaker said.
“It’s been remarkable to have the Momentum team there. They have been doing the actual hard work, establishing relationships and obtaining the money from the councils and the big donors. We were merely there to support them, to have their backs.”
“The big boost at the beginning [in October 2017] was when Trust Waikato put their donation in, and then, gradually, the rest of the money began falling into place.”
Trust Waikato’s $15 million contribution was followed by the Hamilton City Council formally committing the $25 million it would have spent on a Founders repair, and the Waikato Regional Council then adding $5 million in June 2018.
“Of course, the construction process happened much slower than anticipated, but that was largely due to Covid. That was unavoidable. So too was the discovery of the urupa site so close to the original theatre.
“They were unknowns - but everything that occurred was addressed and then resolved. I don’t believe there was anything that proved to be too much of a challenge.”
Rademaker had also directly contributed to the fund-raising efforts by purchasing a plaque on the back of a seat in the theatre - in the Take a Seat initiative that was part of Momentum’s Share the Stage campaign - for her family, “instead of giving each other Christmas presents one year”.
Overall, the crusade had proved a massive success, she said.
“A project like this demonstrates how well the people of the Waikato, the businesses and organisations that exist in the Waikato all work together, and can come together as a community for a common goal.
“It does not matter how much anyone gave, if they could only put in a tiny amount or nothing at all - the amount of goodwill and support the theatre has received has buoyed the entire project along.”