Kat的部落格

我們有一週的課程是要用演講的方式介紹紐西蘭的名人

對我來說…光說英文已經有夠困難了…現在還要Presentation

Oh My God…真是讓我TOYOTA(頭又大)

Peter Jackson…Russell Ira Crowe…>>同學們紛紛選好自己的主題

我要說什麼勒…在網路上搜尋到「The Wizard of New Zealand」

咦…是真的巫師嗎? 好像蠻有趣的，就這個吧~

「The Wizard of New Zealand」是當地的傳奇人物

平日午後(冬季除外)他會穿著巫師服出現在教堂廣場…以誇張的方式發表演說

報告完之後的某天，在廣場看見他本人的時候超興奮的，我碰見真人也!!!YES~~~~~

翻出之前的演講稿，有空的話大家來認識一下真的巫師吧 ^^

Ian Brackenbury Channell was born in 1932, in London. He has double academic degrees of psychology and sociology. He has even worked as a paper merchant, teacher, lecture and teaching fellow. He was appointed Wizard of the University of New South Wales, England, in 1969 by the Vice Chancellor when he was working there. And in early 70’s, he donated his living body as a “ living work of art” to the National Gallery of Victoria.

In 1974, the Wizard arrived in Christchurch, New Zealand, offering services as Wizard to the Christchurch City Council. He initially gained attention in New Zealand as a regular soap box orator in Cathedral Square. He dressed as a Wizard in a black gown, wizard's hat, staff and a long flowing beard. He was greeted with derision and eggs were thrown at him in his maiden speech in Cathedral Square on September 17, 1974. But now he is an institution and tourist attraction. Why has he become so popular? One of the reasons is that he offers funny and irreverent statement about the subjects such as religion, politics, and women's issues. His topics of oration were controversial and whimsical. And he made world news by performing a drought-breaking rain dance in 1988. In 1994, the Auckland City invited him to perform another rain dance to end a serious water shortage. Three days later, the skies opened and it rained for some months. News of the miracle reached Australia and the Wizard was invited by a Sydney radio station and the Tamworth Town Council to attempt to break a drought of many years. After three days storm clouds appeared and the rains came. The successful rain dance surprised a lot of people. Besides rain dance, he is also well known for his upside down map, which puts New Zealand at the top of the world.

After Canterbury Promotion Council appointed the Wizard official Archwizard of Canterbury in 1980, the Wizard received a Newman Award for individual services to tourism in New Zealand. And the Prime Minister of the time, Mike Moore, appointed him Wizard of New Zealand in 1990. But recently he is semi-retired. He moved to a town in Otago, and just makes speeches during the summer months.

I think that he doesn’t have the magic which is like the movies, and maybe the rain dances were just coincident. Maybe there are a lot of people thinking that he is crazy. But, no matter he is a wizard or an eccentric; he has become an delightful icon in New Zealand.