Civic siblings Down Under

Every Sunday night as a young boy in Australia, Shane Bourke watched “Disneyland” as part of his weekend ritual.

“Australian television in that era was almost all American and English TV,” he said. “‘Pollyanna,’ ‘Swiss Family Robinson’ — all that good stuff.”

But it was only last Tuesday that the now-mayor of Wyndham, Australia — Costa Mesa’s sister city — visited the iconic amusement park featured on the 1950s television show, feeling the snow on his face on Main Street and watching its famous fireworks.

“It’s been an incredible dream of mine since I was a boy; my boyhood dream was to see that park,” he said. “To be there with my children was tremendous.”

During their diplomatic visit to Costa Mesa this week, Bourke and his family have seen a few other sights as well — a Mighty Ducks game and Universal Studios, and they have a trip to San Francisco planned this week.

The two cities signed a sister city agreement in 1996, as an extension of a popular student exchange program with the city’s schools, Assistant City Manager Tom Hatch said.

“It’s been a developing relationship for many years,” he said. “There was a strong educational connection between schools in Australia and here in Costa Mesa — we’ve had students to go to Australia, and we’ve had Australian students.”

But Bourke hopes that the trip, which includes visits to local businesses like Volcom, will strengthen the cities’ economic ties as well.

“What we need to do is build up a business exchange,” he said. “Tourism, industry: You never know what can be built between the two cities. It’s things like that — not just education — that’s really, really important.”

Bourke, however, was quick to stress what he saw as many parallels between his city and Costa Mesa.

“We’re the same in that we drive our car to work — on opposite sides of the road, maybe — come home again, and look after our families,” he said. “When you look at it philosophically, we’re all the same.”

CHRIS CAESAR may be reached at (714) 966-4626 or at chris.caesar@latimes.com.