pillboxes were built at each end of Eastern Beach on the clifftops by Herbert (Pop) Leach, an ex-World War I signaler and local farmer with his sons Bert, Allan and Mick. Metal and concrete was provided by Winstones Ltd, and the material was brought to the sites by the Leach's horse-drawn sledge. The home guard with the help of the regular army set up barbed wire entanglements at local beaches. Because rumours of submarines were rife in 1941, the local home guard platoon had an exercise to walk from Mangere to Bucklands Beach. The Leach's provided accommodation in the old two-story Alfred Buckland homestead. In the 1950s the baby boom at the end of the war saw a growth in the number of children and a bach owned by the Trusdale family was converted into a one-room barbers shop complete with pole, on Wharf Road next to the Community Centre hall. This was known as Bert the Barbers. The barbers was demolished in the early 1960s. It was located where the present plunket rooms are now. Postwar In the early days before World War II the beach had a very small permanent population centred around five farms and a few retired people, though in summer the population would be much bigger as there were many baches. After World War II the population grew steadily as the Bucklands sold off parcels of land for subdivision. When the primary school started in 1955 with a roll of about 180, the population was about 1000. The biggest growth came with widespread subdivision between 1963 and 1970. The first large-scale sale of sections took place in 1947 to take advantage of returned servicemen and the baby boom. A regular bus service took passengers to the city. The Bucklands estate lawyers sold sections for 175–200 pounds. The second large sale of sections took place in 1963. Sections then cost 2000–2500 pounds. Walking tracks were made so that pedestrians could walk more directly to the various beaches. These 3m wide tracks still exist today. After World War II a group of enthusiastic locals started a centreboard yacht club which was run from a portable shack stored at the community centre and carried across the road to the beach each Sunday in summer. The early classes were Z and Idle alongs on the 1950s which were gradually replaced by lighter, faster yachts such a P, Cherubs, Flying