A New Zealand national has been charged with murder after a man was fatally stabbed in a pub car park in Melbourne's south-east last month.

Alex Manuel, 27, was charged with the murder of Ricky Thompson, 44, after being arrested at a rural property in Toora, in Gippsland, early Thursday morning following a widespread police manhunt.

Homicide Squad detectives had earlier appealed for information to help locate Alex Manuel. Credit:Victoria Police

Police allege Mr Manuel and Mr Thompson, from Bonbeach, got into an argument in the car park of the Chelsea Heights Hotel on Springvale Road about 3.30am on June 18, before it escalated and Mr Thompson was stabbed.

He was found with critical injuries and was rushed to The Alfred hospital with a wound to his head. He died a day later, on Wednesday.