And so it was that Ben Green's doors were no barrier to his murderer, when the armed man approached the Boyd Street home just after 3am on Friday. The intruder, once considered to be a family friend, walked into the bedroom and shot dead the 32-year-old farmer as he slept. His brother, asleep in the other bedroom, was only roused by the sound of a "click" as the intruder entered his room.

Reaching into the darkness, Hubert Green, 28, seized upon an object and refused to let go.

"He grabbed it with his hand and realised it was a gun and didn't let go of it," sister Kate Henderson said on Monday, recounting the events that have shattered her tight-knit family, which has lived in the region for generations.

"They wrestled for quite some time, and he was able to get the magazine out of the gun."

With the intruder disarmed, the younger Green ran to his vehicle. As he locked the doors and started to drive away, the man appeared at the window, firing a second gun through the glass. The bullet grazed his upper arm.

When Hubert Green returned to his home, he discovered his brother had been shot in the head.

Described by his sister as "our hero", Hubert got back in his vehicle, fearing for the safety of his other brother, Arthur. As he approached Arthur's home, the intruder was already there.

"He just beeped the horn a lot and was flashing his lights, and must have scared him off," Mrs Henderson, 34, said.

Some hours later, just after 8am, the intruder was found dead in his vehicle, which was parked in a nearby street. He had turned the gun on himself.

The eldest of the four siblings, Mrs Henderson spoke of her family's "heart wrenching" pain over the murder-suicide, and the loss of her "gentle and kind" brother.

The murder, she said, was senseless and unprovoked.

"There was no dispute, no reason, no logic, no nothing."

Detective Inspector Shane Box described the incident as having "no lead-up" on the night, other than the men had been involved in an "ongoing dispute".

Ben Green was a "kind a gentle" man, who was "softly spoken" and cut from "quintessential Australian" farming stock, Mrs Henderson said.

"They don't make them like they made Ben. He's the type that's pretty rare these days. He wouldn't say a bad word about anyone."

An animal lover, he loved nothing more than to spend time with his horses, she said.

"He loved them, any spare time was spent on horses. He always had a sixth sense with animals."

Though he was "big and muscly and a farmer", and well-versed in the emotional stoicism of the country life, he balanced that with softer, sensitive side, she said.

"When he gave you a hug, it was real. In the country it is rare for anybody to show that."

Mrs Henderson said her brother's murder is yet another all-too-late reminder of the need to tackle mental health issues in country areas.

"It's such a taboo topic, and people tend not to get help. We all need to be a bit more aware of each other."

For help or information, call Lifeline, 131 114, or visit beyondblue.org.au.