[1] From 1990 to 2002 he was the eleventh Dean of ChristChurch Cathedral; until he was ordained to the episcopate on 17 August 2002.

He boarded at Napier Boys’ High School, and at the age of 18 studied English literature and theology at the University of Canterbury.

While studying in the United States, Bluck was a reporter for The Pilot, Boston's Catholic Newspaper.

Bluck was ordained as a priest in 1971[4] by Bishop Paul Reeves and began his ministry at Holy Trinity, Gisborne.

In 1990, Bluck was invited to be the Dean of ChristChurch Cathedral by Bishop David Coles, which he accepted.