'Riverbank' Frank Doolan is "overwhelmed" after receiving a life-changing gift purchased from donations that came from around Australia.
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The Wiradjuri elder and public figure has taken stock of a new caravan to live in after his old van went into disrepair.
Mr Doolan, who is a champion of equality and reconciliation, said the generosity towards him came from people of all races and walks of life.
"The idea that an old black man can live on the riverbank and - in a supposedly racist country - can get a caravan, and all through donations, it kind of explodes a myth, doesn't it?" Mr Doolan told the Daily Liberal.
He said he treated people the way he liked to be treated and appealed to others to do the same as they "may be surprised by the results".
Dubbo barrister, member of the NSW Legislative Council and ex-mayor, Stephen Lawrence, set up an online fundraiser before Christmas and over $16,000 was raised for Mr Doolan's new caravan.
Mr Doolan purchased a spacious van - which Mr Lawrence called "a renovator's dream" - for $3,800. The remainder of the money would be used to renovate the van to 'as new' condition, as well as to buy furniture, and anything left over would be given to charity.
"I am wrapped. My good friend Steve [Stephen] Lawrence described it as a renovator's dream and that makes me smile because I could be considered a bit of a renovator's dream too, I guess - a bit rough around the edges," Mr Doolan laughed.
"The van and I, we go together. It's a hell of a lot better than the last one I had, and it does what I wanted it to do, which is keep the weather off and just be a secure and a dry place.
"I don't need the latest whizz bang thing, I never intended to go crazy on buying a new van at all or the best I could get - what I wanted was something that would do the job."
Mr Doolan said he had given $4,000 to charities nearby Dubbo, including Tradies In Sight, Hear Our Heart Ear Bus, LeaderLife and Baptist Care's HopeStreet.
He thanked everyone who donated to the fundraiser.
"It was a really nice end to the year, this happening, and it's been a beautiful beginning," he said.
"This is a time of great uncertainty, not just here in Australia, but on an international level, and nobody knows what's up or down.
"In the middle of all that there, it's good to live in a community like Dubbo because people in Dubbo right across the board - little old ladies, black people, white people, all sorts of people - have asked me about the caravan and offered stuff.
"To be offered by little old ladies to measure up and make the curtains for my caravan ... the little old ladies, we are chalk and cheese, but the common ground is our shared humanity, and the idea that we can all love life, you know?"
Mr Doolan said it was a confirmation of the "kindness and consideration which still exists in this country".
"I live in the best regional city in this country," he said.
"I say, I'm nothing important at all in the scheme of things - in Dubbo or anywhere - but I'm overwhelmed, I'm humbled, I'm blown away, by the kindness, the generosity, and the spirit of community that's been shown to me by my fellow Australians, so I just say thank you."