The Wizard of New ZealandQSM (born Ian Brackenbury Channell; 4 December 1932) is a New Zealand educator, comedian, magician and politician. He is also known by his shorter name, The Wizard.
The Wizard was born Ian Brackenbury Channell on 4 December 1932 in London, England. Educated at Framlingham College Suffolk and from 1945 to 1951 at Bromley Grammar School for Boys, now Ravensbourne School, in 1951–53 he served in the Royal Air Force as an airman and in 1963 he graduated from the University of Leeds with a double honours degree in psychology and sociology; as a student at Leeds he was a member of the institution's University Challenge team.[1] Shortly afterwards, he was recruited by the University of Western Australia Adult Education Board to run their community arts programme. In 1967 he joined the teaching staff of the newly opened School of Sociology at the University of New South Wales in Sydney.
During the student upheavals, which began at this time, he created a direct action reform movement called Alf (Action for Love and Freedom) and implemented this with what he announced to be "The Fun Revolution".
In a condition of considerable financial hardship, he was able to persuade the Melbourne University Union Activities Department to appoint him their unpaid "Cosmologer, Living Work of Art and Shaman". The vice-chancellor gave him the use of the Old Pathology Lecture Theatre for his classes in synthetic cosmology and the director of the National Gallery of Victoria accepted the offer of his live body as a living work of art. At this time, shocked when the student pacifist society sent money to the Viet Cong, he founded Alf's Imperial Army devoted to sensational but non-violent warfare and regularly organised battles on campus. He founded the Imperial British Conservative Party to provide a counterbalance to international capitalism and the various forms of Nazism.
In 1974 the Wizard migrated to Christchurch in New Zealand and began to speak on a ladder in Cathedral Square. The city council attempted to have him arrested but he became so popular that they made the square a public speaking area. Wearing his costume as a false prophet of the Church of England, or his wizard's pointy hat, he has spoken there at lunchtimes in the summer months.[citation needed]
With the help of the mayor, Vicki Buck, the city of Christchurch hosted a wizards' conclave in 1995 when visiting colleagues gathered to help build a wizard's nest on top of the university library tower, to witness the New Zealand Wizard hatching from a giant egg in the city art gallery, sky diving whilst chanting a spell for a major rugby match and performing various rituals round the city. Soon afterwards, accompanied by 42 assistant wizards, he came down by gondola from the Port Hills with tablets bearing the address of his new website.[citation needed]
In 1982 the New Zealand Art Gallery Directors Association issued a statement that in their opinion the Wizard was an authentic living work of art and the city council appointed him "Wizard of Christchurch". In 1990 the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Mike Moore, an old friend, appointed him the official "Wizard of New Zealand".
He provided his services free until [when?] the Christchurch City Council granted him a modest annual honorarium. The Wizard has received financial support from his partner, Alice Flett.[2]
On 8 September 2003 the Wizard's large wooden house was destroyed by a fire, which Christchurch police treated as arson. The Wizard, his partner and two boarders were lucky to escape with their lives and the Wizard's extensive book and video collections were destroyed. The "Wizardmobile", constructed from the front halves of two VW Beetles, was also attacked and damaged.
After the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, the Wizard planned to retire and permanently leave Christchurch, saying that the town he loved had gone and that it was the end of an era.[3] After it was announced by CERA and the Anglican bishop that the remains of Christchurch Cathedral would be demolished, the Wizard returned to Christchurch to oppose the demolition.[4] The Wizard continues to speak on the need to preserve Christchurch's heritage buildings.
The Wizard in front of Christchurch Cathedral in January 2007
Public speaking
The Wizard performed in Cathedral Square on weekdays from 1–2pm from November to Easter. He now spends a significant amount of his time in Oamaru, which is famous for being a centre for arts and craftsmanship. He was present at the official re-opening of Oamaru Airport on 6 August 2006, and where he claimed to have cast a successful spell to disperse the fog that was preventing the first flight from landing.[6]
Autobiography
In 1998, an autobiography titled My Life as a Miracle was published.[7]
Cartography
The Wizard produced an upside-down map using the Hobo–Dyer projection which placed New Zealand and Australia top-centre.[8][9]
Film
The Wizard of New Zealand QSM, directed by Grant John Neville[10] and Director of Photography Karlos Filipov, is an award-winning documentary that follows the life of the first man in the modern world to be appointed by a government as an Official Wizard. The documentary includes interviews with The Wizard, Mike Moore and many others.[11]
The Wizard explores the Wizard's views that women cause wars through their shopping habits and that governments with monarchies are more stable, and explores the life of the Wizard of New Zealand.
The Wizard and the Commodore – Chathams Islands/New Zealand, directed by Samuel A. Miller[15] follows the Wizard of New Zealand on a trip to the Chatham Islands, 600 miles off the Coast of New Zealand. The film premiered at the Jerusalem Cinematheque on 29 March 2018.[citation needed]
↑ "NZ wizard seeks charms of normal life". BBC News. London: BBC. 24 August 2002. Retrieved 23 October 2015. But even wizards must eat. This one has long been supported by his Australian fiancée, Alice Flett.
↑ "NZ wizard seeks charms of normal life". BBC News. London: BBC. 24 August 2002. Retrieved 15 February 2012. He is best known for his rain dances and upside down map, which puts New Zealand at the top of the world.
Oamaru is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is 80 kilometres (50 mi) south of Timaru and 120 kilometres (75 mi) north of Dunedin on the Pacific coast; State Highway 1 and the railway Main South Line connect it to both cities. With a population of 13,150, Oamaru is the 28th largest urban area in New Zealand, and the third largest in Otago behind Dunedin and Queenstown.
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. The Christchurch urban area lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula. The urban area is home to 377,200 residents, and the territorial authority has 385,500 people, which makes it the second-most populous city in New Zealand after Auckland and before Wellington. The Avon River flows through the centre of the city, with an urban park located along its banks.
Sir Frederick Miles Warren is a New Zealand architect. He apprenticed under Cecil Wood before studying architecture at the University of Auckland, eventually working at the London County Council where he was exposed to British New Brutalism. Upon returning to Christchurch, and forming the practice Warren and Mahoney, he was instrumental in developing the "Christchurch School" of architecture, an intersection between the truth-to-materials and structural expression that characterised Brutalism, and the low-key, Scandinavian and Japanese commitment to "straightforwardness". He retired from Warren and Mahoney in 1994, but continues to consult as an architect and maintain his historic home and garden at Ohinetahi.
Sir Ian Charles Athfield was a New Zealand architect. He was born in Christchurch and graduated from the University of Auckland in 1963 with a Diploma of Architecture. That same year he joined Structon Group Architects, and he became a partner in 1965. In 1968 he was a principal partner in setting up Athfield Architects with Ian Dickson and Graeme John Boucher (Manson). Athfield died in 2015 due to complications from a routine procedure which resulted in pneumonia, at the Wellington Hospital, where he was being treated for prostate cancer.
Thomas Allen Munro Curnow was a New Zealand poet and journalist.
Sir Gilbert Simpson is a New Zealand businessman and computer programmer.
Alf's Imperial Army, founded in 1972, by Ian Brackenbury Channell is New Zealand's longest-running and largest pacifist warfare organisation. Organised loosely along military lines, it has Regiments in several New Zealand towns and cities. As a self declared "army" it exists to do "battle" using strictly non-harmful weapons, following the rules and conventions of the pastime known as "pacifist warfare". Alf's have held many highly publicised battles against a wide range of New Zealand organisations and community groups.
The Congregation of Christian Brothers in New Zealand is part of the Congregation of Christian Brothers, a Catholic religious institute, and has been established in New Zealand since 1876. Its particular charism is the education of boys and in New Zealand it has been responsible for eight schools and has launched other educational initiatives.
Graham Thomas Condon was a disabled athlete who won seven medals for New Zealand competing in Paralympic swimming and athletic events and a total of 36 medals in international competition overall. He was also a local-body politician and a disability advocate.
James Gladstone Edwards was a member of parliament for Napier, in the North Island of New Zealand.
The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament is located in the city centre of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Christchurch and seat of the Bishop of Christchurch, currently Bishop Paul Martin SM.
Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill is a New Zealand actor, writer, producer, director, and vineyard proprietor.
Christchurch Central City is the geographical centre and the heart of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is defined as the area within the four avenues and thus includes the densely built up central city, some less dense surrounding areas of residential, educational and industrial usage, and green space including Hagley Park, the Christchurch Botanic Gardens and the Barbadoes Street Cemetery.
Francis Neil Dawson is a New Zealand sculptor, best known for his large-scale civic pieces crafted from aluminium and stainless steel, often made using a lattice of natural forms which between them form a geometric whole.
William Barnett Armson was an architect, surveyor, engineer in colonial New Zealand. A co-founder of the Canterbury Association of Architects, and an architect to the provincial government, he established the architectural firm of Armson, Collins and Harman in 1870, which remained active until 1993. It was one of the two oldest architectural firms in New Zealand. His most important work was the Bank of New Zealand building in Dunedin.
Helen Connon was an educational pioneer from Christchurch, New Zealand. She was the first woman in the British Empire to win any university degree with honours.
Sir Robertson Huntly "Bob" Stewart was a New Zealand industrialist and exporter. He is credited with starting to manufacture plastic goods in the country.
Viola Helen Macmillan Brown was an artist from Christchurch, New Zealand.
Douglas Kerr MacDiarmid is one of New Zealand's most accomplished expatriate painters, known for his diversity and exceptional use of colour, and involved with key movements in twentieth-century art. He lives in Paris, France.
The 2009 Queen's Birthday Honours in New Zealand, celebrating the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II, were appointments made by the Queen in her right as Queen of New Zealand, on the advice of the New Zealand government, to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by New Zealanders. They were announced on 1 June 2009.
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