'Kill threat' probe over McDonald's Tecoma protest

A man who runs a website protesting against the proposed McDonald's restaurant in Tecoma says he has received online death threats and harassing phone calls since his personal details were published on a pro-McDonald's Facebook page.

It comes as about 200 Tecoma protesters began massing on Wednesday for a peaceful protest at the proposed site of the McDonald's restaurant, saying they feared bulldozers were due to arrive in the Dandenongs town.

Melbourne real estate agent, Dave Hooper, was born in Ferntree Gully and claims a lifelong connection with the Hills region.

Mr Hooper said he set up the website burgeroff.org as a "place for all the voices who are concerned about the McDonald's proposal to come and find common ground".

"At the beginning, there were all these voices online and in the community with a single message - this is the wrong place for a McDonalds," he says.

"We needed a collective voice and that is what the site has become."

Mr Hooper was required to register his personal details, including phone contacts and home address, when he registered the domain name - and this is where he says the trouble began.

"Quite quickly, the pro-McDonald's groups found these details and published them on a Facebook page," he says.

"But I reacted very quickly and strongly. I have a seven-year-old and a nine-year-old and they have nothing to do with this."

Mr Hooper said the incident - which took place months ago - was resolved and his details removed.

But in the wake of anti-McDonald's protesters encouraging the public to target the owners of Mentone-based B.R. Demolition on Friday, pro-McDonald's activists have republished the details of Mr Hooper - including an incorrect home address - online.

Mr Hooper has been inundated with texts and phone calls from mostly blocked phone numbers, calling him derogatory names and leaving abusive messages.

"'Filthy, feral hippy' is the most common label," Mr Hopper says.

But a comment on Facebook posted on Wednesday morning, directed at Mr Hooper, "Let's Kill Him," has been referred to police.

Mr Hooper also received an email threatening to bomb his home. Police are investigating that threat.

The comment has been "liked" 4 times and is part of a post that encourages "Pro-Maccas" members to "spam the owner of Burgeroff.org" in retaliation to phone calls made to the demolition company.

Meanwhile, the Tecoma protest is on high alert for the arrival of bulldozers.

Community member Esther Kelly said locals began rallying at the site from 5am for a "peaceful" protest.

"We have promised McDonald's a public relations disaster when they come," Ms Kelly said.

She said local community members had supplied a pancake breakfast and hot drinks for protesters.

A second protest in Sydney is also going ahead with a Tecoma mother and daughter handing out flyers calling for corporate change at the fast-food giant's headquarters.

McDonald's is suing eight Tecoma residents for causing delays to the project's construction.

Tecoma mother Erin Downie and her daughter, Mirakye will attempt to deliver a 61,000 change.org online petition to McDonald's Australia boss Catriona Noble at 9am on Wednesday.

The local council rejected the original proposal but it was later approved after an appeal to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

B.R Demolition co-owner, Lynda Rafferty told media last week that she and husband Bernie had received more than 300 calls and so many emails the business mailbox had shut down since protesters discovered they would be working on the Tecoma site.

'No Maccas in Tecoma' spokesman Garry Muratore said the protest group had encouraged its members to contact B.R. Demolition to ask the company to respect the Tecoma community's wishes to not have McDonald's built in the area.

"We've asked people to be respectful but firm," he said.

Mr Hooper said he encouraged everyone "on both sides of the fence" to respect one another and protest peacefully.

"Personal threats have no place here," he said.

With Deborah Gough