The Home Guard was a wartime armed service during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

that was established with the primary objective of defending New Zealand from the threat posed by the

Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent fo ...

.Archives New Zealand: http://archives.govt.nz/research/guides/war The Home Guard, modelled on its British equivalent, was formed in 1940. Membership was initially voluntary, with a minimum age of 15 but no upper limit. From 1942, membership was compulsory for those in the 35 to 50 age bracket. One of the key responsibilities of the Home Guard was the mission of destroying any

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...

, particularly bridges, that could be used by invading Japanese forces. In East Auckland, the Home Guard was predominantly made up of horse-mounted farmers who had been excused from war service. They carried out exercises in 1942 including one in which they tested the time taken to travel from

Manukau Harbour The Manukau Harbour is the second largest natural harbour in New Zealand by area. It is located to the southwest of the Auckland isthmus, and opens out into the Tasman Sea. Geography The harbour mouth is between the northern head ("Burne ...

to the

Waitematā Harbour Waitematā Harbour is the main access by sea to Auckland, New Zealand. For this reason it is often referred to as Auckland Harbour, despite the fact that it is one of two harbours adjoining the city. The harbour forms the northern and easter ...

at Eastern Beach. Farmers with experience from

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

were used to construct beach obstacles such as barbed wire entanglements and to build concrete

pillbox Pillbox may refer to: * Pill organizer, a container for medicine * Pillbox hat, a woman's hat with a flat crown, straight upright sides, and no brim * Pillbox (military) A pillbox is a type of blockhouse, or concrete dug-in guard-post, norm ...

es. Eastern Beach had such pillboxes at each end. The

long wave radio In radio, longwave, long wave or long-wave, and commonly abbreviated LW, refers to parts of the radio spectrum with wavelengths longer than what was originally called the medium-wave broadcasting band. The term is historic, dating from the e ...

station at

Musick Point Musick Point Te Naupata (; officially Musick Point / Te Naupata) is the headland of the peninsula that forms the eastern shore of the Tāmaki River in Bucklands Beach, a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. In 1942, Musick Point was named after Ed ...

was provided with bomb shelters from which emergency radios could be operated. A blackout was imposed and enforced by the Home Guard. The wooden wharf at

Bucklands Beach Bucklands Beach is a suburb east of Auckland's CBD in New Zealand. The suburb is in the Howick ward, one of the thirteen administrative divisions of Auckland Council. Demographics Bucklands Beach covers and had an estimated population of ...

, which was believed capable of aiding a Japanese landing, was demolished in 1942. Members of the Home Guard who served for 28 days full-time or 6 months part-time were eligible for the New Zealand War Service Medal.New Zealand Defence Force: http://medals.nzdf.mil.nz/category/c/c1.html#hg At the peak of its membership, the Home Guard had approximately 119,000-123,000 men.

References

{{Reflist Home front during World War II Military units and formations of New Zealand 1940 establishments in New Zealand 1943 disestablishments in New Zealand

Further reading

References