A French backpacker has died from a suspected brown snake bite in the regional town of Nullawil, in Victoria's north-west.
Friends of the 25-year-old found him unconscious at his home at about 7.45pm on October 24 and tried desperately to save him by performing CPR for more than an hour.
The man was flown 300km to The Alfred hospital in Melbourne in a critical condition and suffering from a cardiac arrest. He later died at the hospital.
Wade Humphreys, who owns the Access Grain harvest depot where the man was employed on a working holiday visa, told 9news.com.au puncture wounds were found on his foot.
Humphreys said the area was not particularly well-known for having snakes and the death was "a tragedy".
"It's one of the most unluckiest things you will ever see," Humphreys said.
"He obviously never realised he'd been bitten.
"It's been terrible, really sad. He was a 25-year-old bloke that had his whole life ahead of him."
Humphreys said the backpacker had only been working in the town for about 10 days before his death.
It appeared likely the man was bitten by the snake when he was off shift, Humphreys said.
"He got bitten on the foot and we wear protective boots and safety gear, so that obviously gives you an indication that he got bitten out of work hours," he said.
Victoria Police said the exact cause of the man's death was yet to be determined however it was not being treated as suspicious.
WorkSafe are investigating.