CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
The iconic Brisbane swagman known as Zbigniew Marian Wilczek Alba or ‘Ziggy the bagman’ is actually a millionaire, and chooses to be homeless for fun – that’s according to the people of Brisbane.
The Polish migrant, who has gradually moved between streetside settlements in the inner-city suburb of Toowong for many years now, is allegedly worth millions – and everyone knows that.
Ziggy first became a household name in the year 2000, when the then Lord Mayor Jim Soorley fought back against the complaints of several whingeing Toowong businesses who demanded that he be removed on the grounds that he was bad for business and his low levels of hygiene attracted rats. Soorley claimed that he was completely within the law in his position.
Now veering towards the status of tourist attraction, the people of Brisbane fiercely defend the iconic vagrant, while also making up heaps of shit about his back story.
While not much is documented about the life of Ziggy, it is believed, by a few blokes drinking down the road at the R.E, that he was once a high-powered QC who decided to walk away from his life of wealth and live on the street.
Rumours also suggest that he was an early investor in Stefan Ackerie’s Napoleon hair products and used to own that pink barbie doll house on the river opposite Merthyr Bowls club.
