The Wizard of New Zealand (born Ian Brackenbury Channell; 4 December 1932) is a British-born New Zealand educator, comedian, illusionist, and politician. He is also known by his shorter name, The Wizard. Life and career England The Wizard was born Ian Brackenbury Channell on 4 December 1932 in London, England. Educated at Framlingham College, Suffolk, and from 1945 to 1951 at Bromley Grammar School for Boys, now Ravensbourne School. In 1951 he was called up for national service in the Royal Air Force. Although he initially trained to be a pilot, he was later transferred to navigator training in Canada and was subsequently posted as the Adjutant at RAF Duxford. He left the RAF in 1953 and became a sales representative for a paper merchant. In 1956 he married his girlfriend, Monica, and from 1958 spent two years teaching English in Iran. He then returned to England in order to attend the University of Leeds and graduated with a double honours degree in psychology and sociology in 1963. As a student at Leeds he was a member of the institution's University Challenge team. Australia Shortly after his graduation in 1963, he was recruited by the University of Western Australia Adult Education Board to run their community arts programme. In 1967 he became a teaching fellow at the newly opened School of Sociology at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. He was required to study towards a PhD thesis, but was informally promised a lectureship once completed. During this time he created a direct action reform movement called Alf (Action for Love and Freedom) and implemented what he called "The Fun Revolution". In 1968 he separated from his wife and his thesis was terminated due to insufficient progress. As his position was dependent on the continuation his studies, he was consequently dismissed as a teaching fellow. The next year he was appointed as "Wizard" (effectively an events officer) of the University of New South Wales. He would also take on another persona, when elected as dictator of the student union. In late 1969 he was made Wizard by the World University Service of Australia and toured university campuses throughout 1970. He was able to persuade the Melbourne University Union Activities Department to appoint him their unpaid "Cosmologer, Living Work of Art and Shaman" in 1971. The vice-chancellor gave him the use of the Old Pathology Lecture Theatre for his