New Zealand council ends contract with wizard after 23 years of service

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/15/new-zealand-council-ends-contract-with-wizard-after-two-decades-of-service

by samizdis • 5 years ago

185 113 5 years ago

theguardian.com

sneak• 5 years ago

Glad to see that Mel found some work after Royal McBee.

andylynch3• 5 years ago

This is a shame - he’s getting on a bit now but is and always has been a Christchurch institution.

For those who don’t know much about him, there’s a good profile here: https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/eyewitness/audio/2...

throwawaylinux5• 5 years ago

It sounds all in great fun but as I've grown bitter and realistic about governments I have to wonder how was the contract decided and awarded, and whether other artists and entertainers allowed to apply and given fair and reasonable consideration.

Might be better for all involved if he's commissioned by the art gallery or gets crowd funding or something.

andylynch3• 5 years ago

He’s somewhat unique - and possibly the only state wizard in the world. Bureaucrats tend not to know what to do with him.

Worth pointing out he was doing this for decades before the council started supporting him and he will probably carry on.

ganzuul2• 5 years ago

People have been writing occult literature for as long as writing has existed. Artists and entertainers are not exposed to the spiritual arts (e.g. OOBEs) even though they employ the same state of consciousness.

No one is entitled to occult knowledge because all of it is of a deeply personal nature. In a culture where answers are demanded like a privilege, the occultists are going to remain hidden from view.

JamesBarney• 5 years ago

He'd been doing it over over 20 years before he was given the contract.

Also what does fair and reasonable consideration mean, more hoops of paper should have been jumped through before making this decision?

In hindsight they obviously made the right choice. If you select a random artist or entertainer to give money to what are the chances they'll get nearly as famous as this wizard?

LightG• 5 years ago

Gandalf will be p!ssed.

Cthulhu_• 5 years ago

You accidentally wrote an upside-down i

dane-pgp2• 5 years ago

Or, if they were writing to the council in New Zealand, it's all the other letters that are upside-down.

boomboomsubban5• 5 years ago

So they hired him right when Jackson would have been preparing to star shooting "The Lord of the Rings." I wonder if the two events were related.

andylynch3• 5 years ago

He wasn’t hired so much as he turned up in the cathedral square with a step ladder one day and the city couldn’t stop him.

cjrp• 5 years ago

At some point they started paying a salary though

mkl3• 5 years ago

A very common sight in central Christchurch over the decades. He took on a series of apprentices for a while, but I haven't heard of one sticking with it to replace him: https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/9647486/Wizard-takes-..., https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/108126353/auckland-apprenti..., https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/editors-picks/8639255/The-...

toyg• 5 years ago

This sort of character is often not the most agreeable person when the lights are off, so to speak. It takes a lot of self-confidence and disregard for the opinion of others, to put yourself out like that - maybe even a hint of actual mental-health imbalance.

Where I'm from, there was this guy who basically started playing electric-guitar solos in the central square of the city, and then went on "performing" like that for about 30 years - including various spats with local authorities (who didn't necessarily appreciate it when he showed up without permits). Everybody knew he was a proper knob in real life (or he'd be in a band, right?), even though he had become a bit of a local institution (even ran for mayor, at one point, with predictably bad results).

tim3333• 5 years ago

He doesn't seem super agreeable when performing but is an interesting character https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icj5Aow_jec

gremloni4• 5 years ago

That’s just presumptuous and unfair to the guy.

icu• 5 years ago

When I was a young child, growing up in the US, I was given a children's book called Bidibidi (by Gavin Bishop) by my Kiwi grandmother. If I remember correctly, the Wizard saves Bidibidi (who is a sheep). When my father, remarked that there was a real Wizard in New Zealand, who lived in Christchurch, it sparked a lot of wonder and excitement about the Wizard in a far off land. I can't be the only child who found out about the Wizard and was enchanted by the thought of him.

I get that the public purse must be spent well, but I wonder how much wonder and excitement gets lost everytime weird and wonderful traditions like this end.

Surely the price of child wonderment is worth more than NZ$16k/year?

As an adult reading about the Wizard being deemed 'a living work of art' it seems like an appealing philosophical take on the human experience. I think we all should be reminded now and then to consider ourselves artists across the tapestry of time.

boomboomsubban5• 5 years ago

Surely the price of child wonderment is worth more than NZ$16k/year?

Even if it is, the man is 88 and becoming to old to perform his "duties." Imagine how you would feel if your family took a trip to Christchurch and the wizard was too unwell to perform.

gsich• 5 years ago

Is that your assumption?

300bps• 5 years ago

The article said he plans to continue his appearances despite not being paid anymore:

The Wizard said he would keep up his regular appearances at Christchurch’s Arts Centre, chatting to tourists and locals. The centre is hosting an exhibition of his life this month, which is supported by the council.

Aeolun4• 5 years ago

That sounds reasonable? I wouldn’t mind my tax dollars going towards retaining this wizard in the last years of his life. He’s spent 23 years performing, we can deal with him taking a break these last few years.

booleandilemma2• 5 years ago

That’s irrelevant to the parent’s point. Of course people get old, but the position could be filled by a new wizard when the old one retires. The “wonder and excitement” could be kept alive.

mikub• 5 years ago

Then you tell your children that the wizard is away to rescue someone or something like that, that's what wizards do. Maybe that will teach your kids to be alittle bit more patient, and maybe it teaches you that you don't get everything you want "because you paid for it". Seriously, if i plan a trip to some 88 year old guy and they tell me he is to sick to come to work today, I wouldnt even think about wanting money back or demand that he shows up, you should just let this guy have a break and go on with your life.

rthomas6• 5 years ago

88 isn't that old for a wizard

dylan6043• 5 years ago

Sounds like he needs an apprentice

brentcetinich• 5 years ago

Disagree

snapetom• 5 years ago

"The city is embarking on new tourism and promotional direction that will reflect its diverse communities and “showcase a vibrant, diverse, modern city that is attractive to residents, domestic and international visitors, new businesses, and skilled migrant workers”, she said."

That sounds majorly boring.

mkl3• 5 years ago

Well yes, that's what city leaders tend to sound like; trying to appeal to everyone sounds bland. I think they could have described it exactly the same way at almost any point in the last 30 years - it's not like the Wizard was a cornerstone of the city's image.

tim3333• 5 years ago

When I toured NZ as a tourist it was next city - that's the one with the Wizard isn't it? It's the main thing I remember about Christchurch along with it feeling kind of Scottish.

nuerow• 5 years ago

Well yes, that's what city leaders tend to sound like; trying to appeal to everyone sounds bland.

To me, that PR blurb actually uses a lot of words to say nothing at all. It boils down to "I decided to do something else".

temp8964• 5 years ago

I doubt he would be cancelled if he had the correct race and gender and national origin. Apparently he is not "diverse".

X6S1x6Okd1st2• 5 years ago

Huh I assumed it had more to do with the misogyny. You do know that NZ is 71% European as per last census right?

gremloni4• 5 years ago

It’s the right idea.

themaninthedark• 5 years ago

....diverse....vibrant, diverse...

So they are going from 1 wizard to 0 wizards and calling that diverse? Looks like they are decreasing the amount of diversity to me.

jvanderbot2• 5 years ago

"“It’s just they don’t like me because they are boring old bureaucrats and everyone likes me and no one likes them,’’ he said."

jvanderbot2• 5 years ago

This is exactly the world we live in: Government facilitated social improvement through committee-designed culture.

travisporter• 5 years ago

The article also said: "The Wizard is a well-known face to Christchurch residents, but in recent years, his presence has diminished, and sightings have become rare"

Can you furlough a wizard?

mung• 5 years ago

The funny thing is that chch is historically the most un-diverse city in nz. When something trashy or racist happens, and it happens in chch, people in other parts of nz (particularly in the north island) roll their eyes and say “Christchurch…” [in dumb voice].

AussieWog93• 5 years ago

He's always welcome in Melbourne! Can protest outside Tecoma Maccas with Baba Desi.

tenryuu• 5 years ago

If he comes to Melbourne, can we ask him to help stop it from raining every, single, goddamn, day?

hilbert423• 5 years ago

Well, well, well! I knew Ian Channell at university in the late 1960s, he was a lecturer in sociology although I wasn't studying the subject.

That was the time of the anti-Vietnam War demonstrations across the world and one of the consequences was heightened political action by students - the like of which has never been seen since, it was then that Channell started a students' movement called Alf - Action for Love and Freedom. Students met in one of the Students' Union buildings after lectures but that's a separate story (and quite an interesting one at that).

I caught up with him again by sheer accident in the 1980s when on a skiing trip in New Zealand when I managed to catch sight of him doing his wizard performance in the square just outside Christchurch's cathedral (since badly damaged in the 2011 earthquake). Afterwards, a skiing friend and I joined him for afternoon tea in a local coffee shop where we reminisced and chewed the cud for several hours.

'Tis a very small world.

nicolas_t• 5 years ago

started a students' movement called Alf - Action for Love and Freedom. Students met in one of the Students' Union buildings after lectures but that's a separate story (and quite an interesting one at that).

Now I want to hear about that story. Sounds colorful

hilbert423• 5 years ago

There were quite a few events and incidents of note but I'll mention just one—one that we'd only planned but had actually failed to implement (for reasons I'll mention shortly). Yes, it sounds a bit of a hollow gesture to mention an unsuccessful prank but I do so because it both conveys the ethos that most students were engulfed in at the time and also it provides a summary of existing attitudes that were commonplace among students almost everywhere across the globe at the time (not to mention that yours truly was in the thick of planning the prank).

Whilst hindsight and a modicum of sense ultimately prevailed and the prank never proceeded to fulfillment, its description nevertheless provides a window into the prevailing zeitgeist of the late 1960s—a time of upheaval, riots, heightened protests and demonstrations, it was a time in which students demonstrated a sense of spirit, audaciousness and direct action with respect to many social issues but it's fair to say that their principal concerns were about the Vietnam War and its injustices[1].

The prank's plan was for students to take possession of a small rocky outcrop in the middle of the harbor colloquially known as Pinchgut, a once old fort and prison, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Denison, and then to set up and establish our own pirate radio station in the AM Broadcast band. From there, we intended that students would broadcast antiwar and other student propaganda. I can't claim the idea was mine and although I'm pretty sure that it first originated with Ian Channell I'm not completely certain of the fact (it was a long time ago, perhaps we should ask Ian for posterity's sake :-)). Anyway, Ian was very enthusiastic at the notion and for that matter so was I—as I was still smarting from just having received my unwelcome conscription notification—and there's nothing quite like having one's draft papers in hand to focus one's mind, especially so given that I was opposed to the war. (I wasn't alone, others I knew were also in this disquieting position. A number of them burned their draft cards to ashes, however, I took a smart aleck's approach by burning mine all the way around on the outside which still left it legible (mostly). That didn't in anyway help, except that I never had to explain my position to the draft board as it was bloody obvious.)

Anyway, being centrally located, Pinchgut was both high profile and newsworthy thus in one sense seemingly ideal for the stunt. Similarly from a technical perspective, its location was ideal for a clandestine radio transmitter: as an excellent antenna could be erected easily and we would have had access to about the best antenna counterpoise (ground system) available—the harbor's conductive salt water. Transmitting equipment was essentially already to hand (about 150 watts up the stick), as back then I'd already been a licensed radio amateur from the time I obtained my license in my early high school years—and AM Broadcast Band transmitters are a snack to build.

It's now hard to recall exactly every reason for why it all came unstuck but in essence it boiled down to a lack of time, financial and operational resources and a realization that we'd be sitting ducks in that we'd be instantly shutdown by authorities and likely charged with illegal broadcasting under the then Wireless Telegraphy Act. Nevertheless, it was intended to be a very newsworthy event no matter how short our on-air time might have been (as priming the media in advance to obtain maximum publicity was our main aim). Our likely single biggest problem was that we'd have had to temporarily 'silence' the site's caretaker and his family—and even if somehow we'd managed to get them on board and cooperate, given the extreme polarization between the Government and students at the time, we'd likely have been accused of kidnapping them, or such. More importantly, unlike Radio Caroline, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Caroline, we couldn't call on the protection of being out to sea past the 12-mile territorial limit thus we'd quickly fall victim of the Water Police who'd have immediately confiscated the equipment. Essentially, it was a wonderful location for publicity but it was vulnerable by default. Had better sense prevailed earlier and we'd had additional resources, then broadcasting from outside the 12-mile limit would have been the correct approach.

It's important to add it wasn't our intention to be totally subversive ratbags—that being the then prevailing view most of the Establishment had about anti-Vietnam demonstrators[2]. The aim wasn't to hurt anyone but rather to inform the GP about injustice and other social issues not to mention also having some fun (universities are such damn boring and serious places these days). After all, Ian Channell named the movement Alf-Action for Love and Freedom.

It's very hard to get across to younger people of today the notion of what it was like to live through the late 1960s, it was a truly extraordinary and exciting time in which to live and this was the way it was across much of the world. Whilst the Vietnam War was a major rallying point, it wasn't the only one, as Bob Dylan wrote The Times They Are [were] A-Changin’. Woodstock alone could have been testament to the fact but in the 1960s change was happening so fast that in the grand schema of things it was only a bit player (I know that's a little unfair but you get my gist). That ALF was seriously planning such an imprudent and foolhardy undertaking is testament to those times, as such actions were commonplace amoung many groups. We viewed our actions in essentially the same light as those, who during demonstrations, deliberately put themselves in a position where they'd be arrested.

This was a time of high tension, not only was the Cold War in full force but the enormous social changes that were underway throughout society were changing everything. Moreover, in Western societies, especially so in Anglophone countries, the Vietnam War not only divided politics but also families, workplaces and institutions in ways that I've never seen happen since. To finish, I'll provide a somewhat funny anecdote from my own experience that may help to further illustrate the points I've made.

Unlike many students today who still often live at home, by the time I'd started uni I'd already left home (like most students of the era) and was sharing accommodation with other students, thus I'd had limited direct contact with my family on a day-today basis. At one time during my attendance with fellow students at a very large and rowdy anti-Vietnam War demonstration—one where we'd deliberately targeted the Establishment —pro-war organizations, political party offices, the Army's recruiting center, etc.—it was unbeknownst to me that my father, who was vehemently against the War, was also attending the same rally (the demonstration being so huge that any chance of seeing him there was almost negligible). Anyway, being the loud troublemaker that he was, he managed to be arrested and was chucked into the back of a police Black Mariah then dutifully transported to the local lockup along with other recalcitrants and troublemakers. Simultaneously, in another part of town a group of diehards including myself were being dragged feet-first out of the Army's recruiting center after we'd occupied it. Nevertheless, by some miracle of fate, we were not arrested thus we luckily avoided the Black Mariah and lockup experience.

Now serendipity and happenstance intervened and entered the picture: it turned out that one of my flatmates—now a long-time respected doctor high up in the ranks of the medical establishment—was also bundled into the back of Black Mariah along with my father. At this point neither my father nor my flatmate knew of each other by name or in person (as my father was living in another town some 60 miles away and had not had a chance to visit my flat). Needless to say, whilst waiting in the lockup to be bailed out they got talking to one another and were amazed to discover that I was a common denominator known to both of them!

Anyway, my father, despite his outspokenness, was always the epitome of lawfulness and had never been in a lockup before in his life let alone having ever been in trouble with the law in regard of any other matter and thus he was profoundly embarrassed by the incident. To make matters considerably worse, my father had been a naval officer during WWII so, in a sense, he was already a part of the Establishment with a reputation to defend. Thus, out of embarrassment, he asked my flatmate never to mention the matter to me—and he kept his word, even to the present day, (perhaps he too now worries what the Establishment might think). Some twenty or more years later after the event, I finally learned the truth for the first time when my father eventually decided to spill the beans around the Christmas table.

Whilst I've not spent much time discussing ALF's other activities, nor of Ian Channell's involvement therein, one must assume that we were all caught up in the late '60s milieu. As a sociologist, Ian more than any of us would have lapped up those tumultuous times and bundled them into his Wizard's kit bag.

___

[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protests_of_1968,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_68

[2] State Premier Askin's comment to "run over the bastards" in 1966 during visit by President LBJ when demonstrators blocked the roadway: https://overland.org.au/2016/10/fifty-years-ago-today-when-w... Ever since, he's been known as Robert Run-the-Bastards-Over' Askin. (see '1966' midway down article).

hyperman1• 5 years ago

So first there was the fictional Harry Dresden, the only wizard who advertised in the phone book. And now this.

Again and again, reality is stranger than fiction. We wouldn't want it any different.

bovermyer2• 5 years ago

New Zealand definitely has a refreshing sense of whimsy.

Here in the US, if there was an official government wizard, certain segments of the population would be up in arms.

mbg721• 5 years ago

There is; we just call the position "Chair of the Federal Reserve."

someperson• 5 years ago

To be fair, in the US context, the term "Grand Wizard" (or "Imperial Wizard") is the title of the national leader of the Ku Klux Klan violent ethno-supremacist hate group.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan_titles_and_vocabu...

mkr-hn• 5 years ago

I've always been annoyed at how they ruined a name like "Grand Wizard."

bovermyer2• 5 years ago

There is that, yeah. This is why we can't have nice things.

gremloni4• 5 years ago

That’s not whimsy though.

prionassembly• 5 years ago

The Rio municipal administration has an on-again-off-again contract with an (Amer)indian spirit who proffers an ability to prevent heavy rain for specific dates (new years' eve, Carnaval, etc). Some private event organizers also hire Cacique Cobra Coral with the same purpose.

jordemort• 5 years ago

For as old as he is and as little as he costs, if I were the city council I might be inclined to just keep paying him until he died. Beats getting turned into a frog, or having your firstborn cursed.

belval• 5 years ago

That's my take as well, the guy is 88 years old, just keep paying him, for 16k$ he's a nice tourist attraction.

q1w2• 5 years ago

Having spent time in city council budget meetings, I can tell you that animosity over seemingly tiny expenditures can be unreal, and not at all worth the fight.

Ajay-p• 5 years ago

So many people are losing their jobs in this pandemic, it's very sad.

323• 5 years ago

Michael Lewis wrote about something related in Iceland, when he covered the 2009 financial crisis and it's impact on Iceland:

Alcoa, the biggest aluminum company in the country, encountered two problems peculiar to Iceland when, in 2004, it set about erecting its giant smelting plant. The first was the so-called hidden people—or, to put it more plainly, elves—in whom some large number of Icelanders, steeped long and thoroughly in their rich folkloric culture, sincerely believe. Before Alcoa could build its smelter it had to defer to a government expert to scour the enclosed plant site and certify that no elves were on or under it. It was a delicate corporate situation, an Alcoa spokesman told me, because they had to pay hard cash to declare the site elf-free, but, as he put it, “we couldn’t as a company be in a position of acknowledging the existence of hidden people.”

MrZongle2• 5 years ago

The real head-scratcher is how, up until now, paying $16,000 a year to a cosplayer was considered a responsible use of taxpayer funds.

Goety• 5 years ago

For when people could actually travel it was likely worth it.

swearwolf• 5 years ago

Feels like they really buried the lede here. From the article:

In an April screening of channel Three’s comedy current affairs show New Zealand Today, hosted by Guy Williams, the Wizard said he liked to tease women by telling them they were devious, and said “they use cunning to get men who are thick”.

“I love women, I forgive them all the time, I’ve never struck one yet. Never strike a woman because they bruise too easily is the first thing, and they’ll tell the neighbours and their friends … and then you’re in big trouble.”

So really, “Wizard says gross things about women; gets fired” would be a more appropriate headline.

New Zealand council ends contract with wizard after 23 years of service

Related Stories