A man dubbed “Pete the generous” has touched hearts of hundreds of out-of-work Melburnians after he handed out some of his wealth to people queuing amid the coronavirus pandemic.

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Over the past few days, thousands of people have queued at Centrelink locations across the city and Pete said he started trembling after seeing the number of people.

“I thought, we’ve got to start doing something about this,” he told 7NEWS.

Pete has been forced to close his cafe in the city and has laid off 12 staff members. Credit: 7NEWS

The 62-year-old cafe owner rushed to his local bank and withdrew $10,000 in $100 notes.

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He then headed straight to the Centrelink queue in Box Hill and started handing out the bills.

“I started at the back of the queue and then basically handed everybody a $100 note,” he said.

Chevron Right Icon ‘I started at the back of the queue and then basically handed everybody a $100 note.’

“There were tears and disbelief. $100 is not a lot of money, but four or five bags of food meant a lot to these people.”

Pete has been forced to close his cafe in the city and has laid off 12 staff members.

“We’re all traumatised,” he said.