Welcome to the Fire Dam, and welcome to the Ararat Regional Park.
To get here you would've passed a fire dam, used when there are fires nearby for Fire Emergency Services, whether be a small 4x4 unit, a 3,000Lt tanker or even a helicopter, the dam is vital for emergency services to access water quickly in an area where water is not available near by.
The units draft water from the dam into their water tanks using the pump on the vehicle, the term drafting water refers to the use of suction to move a liquid such as water from a vessel or body of water below the intake of a suction pump. A fire truck might draft water from a pond, water tank, dam, rivers etc as the first step in moving the water elsewhere eg water tank, to other vehicles. A suction pump creates a partial vacuum (a "draft") and the atmospheric pressure on the water's surface forces the water into the pump, usually via a hard suction hose.
Please watch out for wildlife, bush walkers and mountain bike riders who frequent the area quickly and silently.
Make sure you check the Fire Danger Rating for the South West (where you are located) and Wimmera (nearby to the north) districts before entering the park during the warmer months)
Many years ago this area had thousands of chinese miners looking for gold, and you can clearly see where they were with shallow digs everywhere, please watch your step, and when you really think about it, these digs have been there for 150 plus years, a bit surreal.