Melbourne mourns an icon and rallies around an unlikely hero

Almost $100,000 has been raised for the person dubbed ‘trolley man’ following Friday’s Bourke Street attack.

Michael Rogers, now known as ‘Trolley Man’ following his efforts to assist police, has told The Age he simply wanted to “do something right for the first time in his life”.

He recently served a five-year jail term for aggravated burglary.

Today, a crowd funding page set up by Melbourne Homeless Collective has seen strangers donate $97,000 to him.

Meanwhile, Melbourne continues to mourn the victim of Friday’s attack, Pellegrini’s cafe icon Sisto Malaspina.

The pile of floral tributes outside Pellegrini’s is expected to grow today as his family considers the offer of a state funeral.

Just down the road, outside Flinders Street station, the efforts to fortify the Melbourne landmark against future attacks will get underway.

Lord Mayor Sally Capp says there will be some disruptions with one of the pedestrian crossings to close.

A pedestrian crossing outside Flinders Street station will close temporarily as the concrete bollards are replaced with 53 permanent steel bollards and the forecourt under the clocks is extended.