New Zealand official launched the wizard Christchurch. It has been in service for 23 years

Canberra, October 15, 2021 – discontinued For the official magicianAfter a long meeting with the management Christchurch I decided that in 2021 It’s time to give up For fits 88 years Ian Brackenberry Chanel, the official city wizard for 23 years in New Zealand.

A state-specific function: the magician was in charge of the supply “works of magic” and promote the city. For her magical services, Channell received an annual salary of About 9700 eurosHe spent more than €317,000 over his career. But that’s not enough, he’s got it too privileged tax situation, Tax-free.

It must have seemed so unbelievable that New Zealand’s third largest city had a magician, and someone in the administration might have noticed him, to that decision, with a very simple explanation and disarmament: “We chose more modern and diverse.”

Chanel, already preparing to take a spell against the municipality, did not take it very well: “They are a bunch of bureaucrats who have no imagination.” The magician who gave an interview to the New Zealand website Stuff stated that he “no longer perceives the city’s vibrations”.

Although charming He has no intention of turning away the magic wand And he would go on with his act: “I’m going to walk around town, I’m going to speak to the audience. They’re going to have to kill me to stop me.” However, he can console himself with the fact that losing his job will not cause him to lose his “magician” professional qualification.

Seriously Channell It was a tourist attraction in ChristchurchWhere he performed in rain dances, importing his magic to all parts of the country in a state of perpetual drought.

But his story is glorious full of decorations: In 1982 it was announced live artwork By the Association of Art Gallery Directors of New Zealand. Then in 2009 it was put on the Queen Elizabeth II birthday homage list.

He also felt himself after the terrible earthquakes in Canterbury in 2011, when he became one of the leaders of the protests against the demolition of historic buildings.

But there is also one aspect of Channell that is highly criticized, particularly for his unhappy advice about women, suggesting for example “a woman should never be hurt because they bruise very easily”.

london by birth, Chanel studied sociology and psychology at the University of Leeds. He moved to Australia where he studied sociology at the University of New South Wales. Then in the early ’70s it was here in Christchurch. There he became a permanent presence in the town square where he was dressed up A long cloak and a pointed hat, He spoke to the crowd as he stood on a ladder.

His fame increased when they tried to arrest him and Became the darling of the citizens, who protested. The solution was to turn the square into a space for public speaking, as seen in large European cities. It was Prime Minister Mike Moore in 1990 who had the intuition to turn him into the official magician of New Zealand.