JOIN USNew Zealand has an official Wizard who gets paid by city council
If you’ve dreamed of banishing evil dark lords with the help of grey, bearded wizards with pointy hats, you need not look any further than Christchurch, New Zealand.
For decades, the city has had its own official wizard whose legal name is Ian Brackenbury Channell. Originally from the UK, Channell moved to New Zealand in the 1970s, and became known as The Wizard, according to a CNN report.
The Wizard over the years has become a part of the city’s charm. Wearing long, flowing robes, a Gandalf-styled hat and carrying a wooden staff, the Wizard expounds on his life theories in front of the Christchurch’s cathedral. As a matter of fact, he is paid 16,000 New Zealand dollars annually for his ‘wizardry’ by the Christchurch City Council.
Much like Shakespeare’s fools, his job is to bring fun to the world but also criticise the system, even if its at his expense. “Every day the world gets more serious, so fun is the most powerful thing in the world right now,” the 'Wizard' told CNN.
According to the City Council spokesperson, his services include promoting local events and tourism, as well as welcoming dignitaries to the city which amounts to about 200 hours of work each year.
The Wizard’s qualifications are as impressive as his job. As a young man, he backpacked through Europe, was a Royal Air Force Officer in Canada, has two degrees in sociology and psychology, taught English Literature at the University of Tehran. He worked as a community arts organiser for the University of Western Australia in Perth, then as a teaching fellow at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney.
It was in UNSW he started what is called a ‘fun revolution’ which aimed at brining love, logic and levity to the world. When he lost his university job, he hatched a plan with the vice-chancellor to give him a new position -- UNSW's first official wizard.
"I've invented a wizard out of nowhere," said The Wizard. "There were no wizards when I arrived in the world, except in books.”
The Wizard, of course, as his won set of strong yet debatable ideas. The Census, according to him, is “a branding of animals on the farm”, Wicca or pagan witchcraft is “shallow consumerist stuff” much like a “fad”.
He is reluctant to the idea of female wizards but suggests they can be fairies instead. He's not convinced by climate change, although he does like the idea of a simpler way of life ("The Hobbits were right.”)
At 87 though, he has found his successor and apprentice. Ari Freeman, 39, has been the Wizard’s apprentice for six years. Freeman also teaches guitar and is part of a psychedelic funk band.
Though there is no word that Freeman will be given the Wizard’s contract, he says that if people want a wizard, he will be one. "I want the wizard phenomenon to continue, and I will totally fulfil that role," Freeman said. "Like a band needs a guitar player -- I'll be that guitar player.”
He knows that he can’t be a wizard as much of his master’s views are incongruent with the world around him. To Freeman, being a wizard is a way to empower people who are lost or depressed, and shake them out of the bounds of what's expected.