A phone call by a man to a Victorian police station on the night he was killed by his neighbour went unanswered, a court has heard.

On the eve of his trial, Ian Francis Jamieson pleaded guilty to murdering his three neighbours on adjoining rural properties near Bendigo, in central Victoria.

The Supreme Court in Bendigo has been told an atmosphere of long-standing and powerful animosity led to the murders of the three, who were from the same family, near Wedderburn in 2014.

Today, Jamieson faced court without a lawyer.

The court heard the 65-year-old was carrying a knife when he climbed over a fence from his adjoining property to the house of his neighbour, Greg Holmes.

The victim called the unattended Wedderburn police station and then triple-0 before he was stabbed. Police then attended the crime scene and heard gun shots.

Mr Holmes' mother and step-father, Mary and Peter Lockhart, had been shot dead.

The court heard Jamieson phoned a friend after the killings and told them he snapped after putting up with his neighbours for years.

I went berserk or something, Jamieson told police

In a police interview the following day, Jamieson suggested Mr Holmes had pulled a gun on him months earlier. He said he had been angry with his neighbours for years.

"It was like I went berserk or something, you know," he told police. "These people have pushing and pushing and pushing and I just flipped it."

The court heard that, in the past, the Lockharts had been allowed to graze sheep on Jamieson's property.

Mr Lockhart had also helped Jamieson when his previous home burnt down in 2009.

But the prosecution told the court relations then deteriorated because of Mr Holmes' use of a road, which Jamieson said blew dust onto his property.

"As a tenant and an occupier of the property, Mr Holmes was entitled to use this road reserve," senior crown prosecutor Andrew Tinney said.

"He did so from time to time, although the evidence would indicate only sparingly.

"The relationship went further downhill from the time Mr Holmes moved into his property because it increased the frequency of use being made of the road reserve by his step-father, Mr Lockhart."

No defence lawyer

Jamieson sacked his legal team this week after pleading guilty to the three murders.

Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth told Jamieson she was not satisfied he had the motivation and enthusiasm to find another lawyer.

"You need to give me details of what you've been doing so that I can understand and form an assessment as to whether you're being genuine about this or whether you're just delaying," Justice Hollingworth said.

She has granted him more time to find a legal firm.

Victim impact statements read to court

A large group of relatives attended court to support family members making victim impact statements.

Some wore badges with photos of the victims on them.

The partner of Mr Holmes, Lynette Mordue, told the court she first heard about the tragedy when she turned on the radio the following morning.

"I am barely coping myself," she said. "If I had the support from Greg, he would have been wonderful because that's just how he was with me."

Maree St Clair said she ached with sadness for the loss of her brother Mr Holmes and her mother.

"I don't think I will be able to forget for a long, long time the feelings of utter despair shared with my wanting to believe that they all died instantly, they didn't even see you and that they weren't in fear of their lives," she told the court.

She also directly addressed Jamieson in her victim impact statement. "You have destroyed my enjoyment of life," she said.

The case will resume next Friday.