On Friday, Dane was only a few kilometres away from the finish line, meeting with Member for Eden Monaro Mike Kelly in Eden. 

Dane and his mother Junee dropped in to thank Con Zurcas at the Eden Motor Group for supplying the support car for the Perth2Pambula fundraising run that took off from Belmont, Perth in June this year. 

In three and a half months, Dane has covered almost 4000 kilometres. 

The Perth2Pambula run is in support of beyondblue, Autism Spectrum Australia, Autism CRC, and in memory of Mr Waite’s late father Rod, who died of cancer.

Dane was very excited for the last leg of his journey and his arrival into Pambula. He said his favourite part of the run from Perth back to the South Coast was crossing the Nullaboor Plain, but that will probably be trumped by the joy of coming home. 

Dr Kelly described Dane’s run as an inspiring achievement. 

“Dane has drawn a thread across the nation that has brought people from all over the country together on these issues,” he said. 

“His actions over a couple of months has drawn more support and awareness than we could ever do in a lifetime of talking.” 

Dr Kelly said the onus was now on the rest of the community to maintain the pace of Dane’s campaign and build upon it by providing resources for mental health services and the rollout of the NDIS. 

Mr Zurcas has been keeping in contact with Junee and following Dane’s progress. 

“We’re so proud to be able to support him, it’s not a question of sponsorship, it’s about community support,” Mr Zurcan said. 

Junee said the support car ensured she could travel with Dane and keep him safe on the roads. 

She is grateful that her son’s dream finally became a reality, and proud that he has redefined what people with disabilities are capable of.