The Wizard of New Zealand
Encyclopedia
The Wizard of New Zealand, QSM
(born Ian Brackenbury Channell; 4 December 1932) is an English
-born New Zealand
educator, comedian
, magician and politician
, who has become something of a national icon of New Zealand.
. In 1951-53 he served in the Royal Air Force
as a pilot-officer navigator and in 1963 he graduated from the University of Leeds
with a double honours degree in psychology
and sociology
. 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". The result was an astonishing revitalisation of the university referred to in the Sydney Morning Herald as "the university that swings".
His head of department, convinced he was mad, dismissed him without consultation for insufficient progress in his thesis in the sociology of art
. The Vice Chancellor offered to do all he could and in 1969 Channell, who wanted to stay on campus and continue his social experiments, was able to persuade the VC to appoint him official University Wizard with a small honorarium paid jointly by the University Administration and the Student Union. He began to experiment with his own identity and allowed his driving license, social security
ID, passport
and other important documents to lapse so that he could become a fictional character... a radical new conceptual art form. After travelling to the World University Service headquarters in Geneva
he received their backing to travel round Australian universities to promote his new revitalisation movement. Unfortunately whilst on tour in Melbourne
in 1970 WUS in Australia was taken over by political extremists who cut him off without any explanation or communication.
Picking himself up, and in a condition of considerable financial hardship, he was able to persuade 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
accepted the offer of his live body as a living work of art (on extended loan). 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 organized battles on campus. He founded the Imperial British Conservative Party
to provide a counterbalance to international capitalism
and the various forms of national socialism.
Having served his difficult apprenticeship in the puritanical atmosphere of the Australian universities, 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 out-manoeuvered them and 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 been speaking there at lunchtimes in the summer months ever since and soon featured in guide books.
He confronted Telecom
over the colour of public telephone boxes, played for the local rugby team, heckled Christian
evangelist
Ray Comfort
, evaded the compulsory census
and, performed three drought-breaking rain dances in Canterbury, Auckland
and the Australian outback
.
With the help of the Mayor, Vicki Buck
, the City hosted a Wizard's 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 web site.
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, Mike Moore, an old friend, appointed him the official Wizard of New Zealand.
He had been providing his services free until recently when the Christchurch City Council granted him a modest annual honorarium. The Wizard has only been able to live out his radically new conceptual life style because of the trust and financial support of his long time love, Alice Flett.
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.
When not actively performing The Wizard busies himself checking the validity of his cosmology or "theory of everything' which includes elements found in such thinkers as the philosopher Whitehead
, the sociologist Parsons
, the physicist Prigogine, the systems analyst Jantsch and the biologist Sheldrake
.
After the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake the Wizard has planned to retire and leave Christchurch for good saying the town he loved had gone and that it was a end of an era. He will be going with his mother to Oamaru, but not before wading through knee-deep water to help rescue Resthome Manager Sue Milligan's dog "Molly".
The Wizard was awarded the Queen's Service Medal
in the Queen's Birthday Honours list of 2009
.
, which has become famous for the artists and craftspeople who have moved there in recent years. He was present at the official re-opening of Oamaru Airport on 6 August 2006, and cast a successful spell to disperse the fog that was preventing the first flight from landing.
SYNOPSIS
Award winning documentary that follows the life of the first ever man in the world to be appointed by a government as an Official Wizard. The former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Right Honorable Mike Moore ONZ, in 1990, proclaimed Ian Brackenbury Channell as the Official Wizard of New Zealand and appointed the Wizard to protect the Government of New Zealand.
This Documentary includes interviews with, The Wizard, Mike Moore and many others, who go onto revealing this amazing, fantastic, magical and true story.
The Wizard was born in London, England in 1932, trained as a Pilot and was a Navigator in the Royal Air Force in 1952, taught English in Iran in 1958 and obtained a double honours in Psychology and Sociology from Leeds in 1963, with participation in the first ever winning team of University Challenge, before becoming the first ever official Wizard in the World and finally honoured with the Queen’s Service Medal in 2009.
The Wizard highlights that woman cause wars through their shopping habits, points out that governments with Monarchies are more stable, formed his own Army and “Save the Males” Campaign and designed a new and Improved Universe and just disappears on Census night.
AWARDS
Best Short Documentary - Beijing International Movie Festival 2010
Best Film about Real People - Official Best of Fest 2010
http://www.wizarddocumentary.com
Queen's Service Order
The Queen's Service Order was established by Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, awarded by the government of New Zealand "for valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the public sector, whether in elected or...
(born Ian Brackenbury Channell; 4 December 1932) is an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
-born New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
educator, comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
, magician and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, who has become something of a national icon of New Zealand.
Life and career
Ian Brackenbury Channell was born on 4 December 1932 in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. In 1951-53 he served in the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
as a pilot-officer navigator and in 1963 he graduated from the University of Leeds
University of Leeds
The University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
with a double honours degree in psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
and sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
. Shortly afterwards he was recruited by the University of Western Australia
University of Western Australia
The University of Western Australia was established by an Act of the Western Australian Parliament in February 1911, and began teaching students for the first time in 1913. It is the oldest university in the state of Western Australia and the only university in the state to be a member of the...
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
University of New South Wales
The University of New South Wales , is a research-focused university based in Kensington, a suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
.
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". The result was an astonishing revitalisation of the university referred to in the Sydney Morning Herald as "the university that swings".
His head of department, convinced he was mad, dismissed him without consultation for insufficient progress in his thesis in the sociology of art
Sociology of art
The Sociology of art is a subfield of sociology concerned with the social worlds of art and aesthetics.Studying the sociology of art throughout history is the study of the social history of art, how various societies contributed to the appearance of certain artists.In her 1970 book Meaning and...
. The Vice Chancellor offered to do all he could and in 1969 Channell, who wanted to stay on campus and continue his social experiments, was able to persuade the VC to appoint him official University Wizard with a small honorarium paid jointly by the University Administration and the Student Union. He began to experiment with his own identity and allowed his driving license, social security
Social security
Social security is primarily a social insurance program providing social protection or protection against socially recognized conditions, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment and others. Social security may refer to:...
ID, passport
Passport
A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth....
and other important documents to lapse so that he could become a fictional character... a radical new conceptual art form. After travelling to the World University Service headquarters in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
he received their backing to travel round Australian universities to promote his new revitalisation movement. Unfortunately whilst on tour in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
in 1970 WUS in Australia was taken over by political extremists who cut him off without any explanation or communication.
Picking himself up, and in a condition of considerable financial hardship, he was able to persuade 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
National Gallery of Victoria
The National Gallery of Victoria is an art gallery and museum in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest and the largest public art gallery in Australia. Since December 2003, NGV has operated across two sites...
accepted the offer of his live body as a living work of art (on extended loan). At this time, shocked when the student Pacifist Society sent money to the Viet Cong, he founded Alf's Imperial Army
Alf's Imperial Army
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...
devoted to sensational but non-violent warfare and regularly organized battles on campus. He founded the Imperial British Conservative Party
Imperial British Conservative Party
The Imperial British Conservative Party was a farcical political party founded by The Wizard of New Zealand. It was dedicated to the grand traditions of British Imperialism in the face of capitalism, globalisation and the distinct lack of culture in Christchurch, New Zealand.The Imperial British...
to provide a counterbalance to international capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
and the various forms of national socialism.
Having served his difficult apprenticeship in the puritanical atmosphere of the Australian universities, in 1974 the Wizard migrated to Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and began to speak on a ladder in Cathedral Square
Cathedral Square, Christchurch
Cathedral Square, locally known simply as the Square, is the geographical centre and heart of Christchurch, New Zealand, where the city's Anglican cathedral, ChristChurch Cathedral is located...
. The City Council attempted to have him arrested but he out-manoeuvered them and became so popular that they made the square a public speaking area. Wearing his costume as a false prophet
False prophet
In religion, a false prophet is one who falsely claims the gift of prophecy, or who uses that gift for evil ends. Often, someone who is considered a "true prophet" by some people is simultaneously considered a "false prophet" by others....
of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
or his wizard's pointy hat, he has been speaking there at lunchtimes in the summer months ever since and soon featured in guide books.
He confronted Telecom
Telecom New Zealand
Telecom New Zealand is a New Zealand-wide communications service provider , providing fixed line telephone services, a mobile network, an internet service provider , a major ICT provider to NZ businesses , and a wholesale network infrastructure provider to other NZ CSPs...
over the colour of public telephone boxes, played for the local rugby team, heckled Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
evangelist
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
Ray Comfort
Ray Comfort
Ray Comfort is a New Zealand-born Christian minister and evangelist. Comfort started Living Waters Publications and The Way of the Master in Bellflower, California and has written a number of books.-Early life and career:...
, evaded the compulsory census
New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings
The New Zealand government department Statistics New Zealand conducts a census of population and dwellings every five years. The census scheduled for 2011 was cancelled due to circumstances surrounding the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, however, and legislation introduced to hold the next...
and, performed three drought-breaking rain dances in Canterbury, Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
and the Australian outback
Outback
The Outback is the vast, remote, arid area of Australia, term colloquially can refer to any lands outside the main urban areas. The term "the outback" is generally used to refer to locations that are comparatively more remote than those areas named "the bush".-Overview:The outback is home to a...
.
With the help of the Mayor, Vicki Buck
Vicki Buck
-Political life:Elected to the Christchurch City Council in 1975 at the age of 19, she became the city's first woman mayor fourteen years later.She began her political career as a member of the Labour Party, but stood for mayor as an independent. An active and vigorous leader, she is widely...
, the City hosted a Wizard's 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
Port Hills
The Port Hills form the northern rim of the ancient Lyttelton volcano, separating the port of Lyttelton from the city of Christchurch in Canterbury, New Zealand...
with tablets bearing the address of his new web site.
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
Christchurch City Council
The Christchurch City Council is the local government authority for Christchurch in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the people of Christchurch. Since 2007, the Mayor of Christchurch is Bob Parker, who stood as an independent candidate...
appointed him Wizard of Christchurch. In 1990 the Prime Minister, Mike Moore, an old friend, appointed him the official Wizard of New Zealand.
He had been providing his services free until recently when the Christchurch City Council granted him a modest annual honorarium. The Wizard has only been able to live out his radically new conceptual life style because of the trust and financial support of his long time love, Alice Flett.
On 8 September 2003 the Wizard's large wooden house was destroyed by a fire, which Christchurch police treated as arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
. 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.
When not actively performing The Wizard busies himself checking the validity of his cosmology or "theory of everything' which includes elements found in such thinkers as the philosopher Whitehead
Alfred North Whitehead
Alfred North Whitehead, OM FRS was an English mathematician who became a philosopher. He wrote on algebra, logic, foundations of mathematics, philosophy of science, physics, metaphysics, and education...
, the sociologist Parsons
Talcott Parsons
Talcott Parsons was an American sociologist who served on the faculty of Harvard University from 1927 to 1973....
, the physicist Prigogine, the systems analyst Jantsch and the biologist Sheldrake
Rupert Sheldrake
Rupert Sheldrake is an English scientist. He is known for having proposed an unorthodox account of morphogenesis and for his research into parapsychology. His books and papers stem from his theory of morphic resonance, and cover topics such as animal and plant development and behaviour, memory,...
.
After the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake the Wizard has planned to retire and leave Christchurch for good saying the town he loved had gone and that it was a end of an era. He will be going with his mother to Oamaru, but not before wading through knee-deep water to help rescue Resthome Manager Sue Milligan's dog "Molly".
The Wizard was awarded the Queen's Service Medal
Queen's Service Order
The Queen's Service Order was established by Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, awarded by the government of New Zealand "for valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the public sector, whether in elected or...
in the Queen's Birthday Honours list of 2009
Birthday Honours 2009
The Birthday Honours 2009 for the Commonwealth Realms were announced on 1 June 2009 in New Zealand and 13 June 2009 in the United Kingdom to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 2009.-Knights Bachelor:*Professor Sabaratnam Arulkumaran. For services to medicine....
.
Public speaking
The Wizard performed in Cathedral Square on weekdays from 1-2pm from November to Easter. He now spends a lot of his time in OamaruOamaru
Oamaru , the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is 80 kilometres south of Timaru and 120 kilometres north of Dunedin, on the Pacific coast, and State Highway 1 and the railway Main South Line connects it to both...
, which has become famous for the artists and craftspeople who have moved there in recent years. He was present at the official re-opening of Oamaru Airport on 6 August 2006, and cast a successful spell to disperse the fog that was preventing the first flight from landing.
Autobiography
An autobiography has been published, "My Life as a Miracle" (ISBN 0-908812-73-6) http://www.cup.canterbury.ac.nz/catalogue/my_life_as_a_miracle.shtmlFilm
The Wizard of New Zealand QSM, Directed by Grant John Neville and Director of Photography Karlos FilipovSYNOPSIS
Award winning documentary that follows the life of the first ever man in the world to be appointed by a government as an Official Wizard. The former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Right Honorable Mike Moore ONZ, in 1990, proclaimed Ian Brackenbury Channell as the Official Wizard of New Zealand and appointed the Wizard to protect the Government of New Zealand.
This Documentary includes interviews with, The Wizard, Mike Moore and many others, who go onto revealing this amazing, fantastic, magical and true story.
The Wizard was born in London, England in 1932, trained as a Pilot and was a Navigator in the Royal Air Force in 1952, taught English in Iran in 1958 and obtained a double honours in Psychology and Sociology from Leeds in 1963, with participation in the first ever winning team of University Challenge, before becoming the first ever official Wizard in the World and finally honoured with the Queen’s Service Medal in 2009.
The Wizard highlights that woman cause wars through their shopping habits, points out that governments with Monarchies are more stable, formed his own Army and “Save the Males” Campaign and designed a new and Improved Universe and just disappears on Census night.
AWARDS
Best Short Documentary - Beijing International Movie Festival 2010
Best Film about Real People - Official Best of Fest 2010
http://www.wizarddocumentary.com
External links
- Official web page
- History page from Christchurch Library website
- Entry in the Encyclopedia of New Zealand from the Ministry of Culture and Heritage website
- Videos of the Wizard speaking in Cathedral Square, Christchurch. From www.newzealandatoz.com
- website of Alf's Imperial Army
- http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/christchurch-earthquake-2011/4829648/Sign-The-Pledge-its-a-wizard-idea
- Official Film Website