Wayne Nielsen, 46, pleaded guilty to serious charges over the Lake Burrumbeet incident after he was given a custodial sentence indication on Wednesday.

The Ballarat Magistrates' Court was told Nielsen attended the Lake Burrumbeet Caravan Park on July 21 to visit a friend.

He was a former resident of the park, having been evicted for allegedly threatening to kill the owner Greg Johns.

Police prosecutor Senior Constable Mitchell Prewett said Nielsen left his friend's residence at 2.15pm and he saw Mr Johns driving a Bobcat.

He said Nielsen stood and stared at Mr Johns and made a cutting gesture at his throat before grabbing his collar and saying, "You are dead".

Senior Constable Prewett said Nielsen walked to his vehicle and retrieved a machete. He swung it towards Mr Johns while saying, "You're dead".

He said Mr Johns tried to fend off Nielsen but the accused continued to chase him in the Bobcat for 200 metres, trying to hit him with the machete.

The court was told Nielsen threw a star picket at Mr Johns, who stopped it with his hand. Two witnesses saw the incident and as Nielsen walked away, they heard him say, "I will be back for you".

The caravan park owner received an injury to his hand.

The police attended and Nielsen was arrested and transported to the Ballarat Police Station for interview.

He admitted he was in an altercation with Mr Johns but he said Mr Johns attacked him with the Bobcat.

Defence lawyer David Tamanika said his client started the altercation but he was not the aggressor. He said the Bobcat's bucket was being moved up and down and Nielsen retrieved the machete from his car to protect himself.

"This was an ugly incident between two males who don't like each other. It went way too far and he will probably spend one month in jail," Mr Tamanika said.

He said Nielsen and the caravan park owner started clashing heads after Mr Johns accused him of using drugs. But he said Nielsen had lost a remarkable amount of weight due to the onset of seizures, not because of illicit drug use.

Mr Tamanika said it was Nielsen's first time in custody, he had been employed for a long time, he had participated in social activities and he had a friendship with Father Bob McGuire.

He said Nielsen had been in custody since the incident.

Magistrate Ron Saines said he would sentence Nielsen to two months' imprisonment if he pleaded guilty, which Nielsen accepted.

He said Nielsen was entitled to leniency for pleading guilty early but it was the third time he was to be sentenced for violence-related incidents in Victoria.

Mr Saines said the victim's actions with the Bobcat did not justify Nielsen producing a machete.

Nielsen pleaded guilty to four charges, including recklessly causing injury, recklessly endangering serious injury and threatening to kill.

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