Mike the Juggler

Michael Eric Wahrlich (1955–2023), better known as Mike the Juggler,^[1] was a New Zealand busker who juggled tennis balls in the streets of Te Aro, Wellington for about three decades.^[2] He was killed in the Loafers Lodge fire, which occurred in the hostel he lived in. A man was subsequently charged with arson and murder.

Wahrlich was born in Wellington Hospital on 27 June 1955 and grew up in Porirua.^[1] He had four siblings: an older brother and three younger sisters.^[3][1] He learned to juggle as a child with oranges and lemons from the kitchen.^[4][1][5]

For some time Wahrlich attended Epuni Boys' Home in Lower Hutt near the start of its history, when it was run by the Ministry of Education.^[6][7]

After moving to Wellington, Wahrlich became a lawnmower for the Wellington City Council in the 1980s, and was later made redundant.^[4][8][9]

In the late 90s, Wahrlich met a man playing the guitar in Manners Mall, and after seeing him succeed, Wahrlich decided that he would also entertain the public in Manners Mall, by juggling tennis balls.^[2] He would often do this wearing a tracksuit,^[10][11] or what RNZ described as a "Signature blue jumper and baggy pants".^[6] When Manners Mall was closed he started juggling on Lambton Quay outside a Westpac bank,^[11] and also in Cuba Street.^[4]

Wahrlich was hospitalised in 2022 after being badly assaulted at his hostel,^[11][1] and was discharged from hospital about a month later.^[2] As a result of the assault, a 39-year-old was arrested and charged with intent to do bodily harm, and was remanded in custody.^[12][13]

In 2022 Wellington City councillor Nicola Young described him as a "city institution", and another councillor, Laurie Foon, said "Mike has been on the streets of Wellington since most of us Wellingtonians can remember".^[11]

Wahrlich died on 16 May 2023, aged 67, in the Loafers Lodge fire in his hostel, which also caused the deaths of four others.^[4][14][13] After his death was confirmed, flowers and three oranges representing juggling balls were placed on his usual juggling spot, outside the Westpac bank in Lampton Quay.^[12][13] Over 200 people subsequently wrote messages for him on an online tribute book.^[4] His funeral was open to the public and was held on 26 May.^{[10][9][1][12]} It was attended by 120 people in person and 300 people online,^[14] including Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau and Councillor Nureddin Abdurahman.^[15]