Australians have gathered at Anzac Day dawn services across the country to honour those who have fought and died in conflict.
It has been 108 years since Australian and New Zealand soldiers first landed at Gallipoli Peninsula in Türkiye during World War I.
The Anzacs were defeated after eight months, having suffered great hardships and mass casualties, but their bravery has become an enduring symbol of military sacrifice.
Crowds gather at birthplace of dawn service
In Sydney, crowds gathered at the cenotaph in Martin Place, credited as the birthplace of the Anzac Day dawn service.
The tradition began in 1927, when a group of veterans were reported to have found an elderly woman placing flowers at the site of the then-incomplete cenotaph.
RSL Ambassador Peter Rudland served in the military for 28 years, and was deployed to Cambodia, Iraq, East Timor, Timor Leste and Afghanistan.
In 2010, he was wounded in a helicopter crash that claimed the lives of three Australian Commandos and a US soldier.
He attended this year along with his nine-year-old son Talon.
"Anzac Day is about family," he said.
"My son, and my other children are the most important things in my life. So I think they should be a part of this and understand what what Australians have done, what sacrifice has been made."
He said while the nature of warfare had changed since World War II, some fundamental principles remained the same — something we should all be reminded of.
"Those soldiers who went to Gallipoli went, you know, for the first time as Australians."
"Before we'd been as colonialists and territories.
"Those guys, they came together and they… created a legend."
Retired Australian Army Catering Corps Corporal James McCann said coming to the Sydney Dawn Service was something he does every year.
"My father, and two uncles and brother went to war," he said.
"You've got to turn up."
'Terrible price paid by young Australians'
In Melbourne, the service was held at Victoria's Shrine of Remembrance.
Lieutenant Governor of Victoria, Professor James Angus, spoke to the crowd and highlighted the dual nature of the day.
"Every Anzac Day is both historic and tragic. Historic because each year marks the anniversary of another war, another battle. Tragic because of the terrible price paid by young Australians to create that history, our history," he said.
Later this morning, veterans, soldiers, and their family and friends will march from Princes Bridge back to the shrine for a wreath laying ceremony.
In Queensland, large crowds braved wet weather to pay their respects in Brisbane’s CBD.
Umbrellas were dotted around the city’s Anzac Square, but many also stood in silence in the rain to commemorate the fallen. Queensland Governor Jeannette Young was among the speakers at the service, describing peace as a “priceless gift”.
“Today, we are fortunate to meet at a dawn that is still and calm, where we are spared the awful dread of the next minute, the next hour, the next day,” she said.
In South Australia, a ceremony was held at the National War Memorial on North Terrace in Adelaide.
The dawn service followed the Anzac Eve Youth Vigil, which saw young South Australians conduct a night-long guard of honour around the memorial.
The South Australian RSL has added 25 names to the Post-World War II Operations Memorial, behind the National War Memorial.
The people recognised served in a number of conflicts and humanitarian efforts across decades, including Afghanistan and Iraq.
Australia's neighbours recognise sacrifice and legend
Overseas, Anzacs and Papua New Guineans have been honoured at a dawn service in Rabaul in Papua New Guinea's East New Britain province.
Wooden torches led the way down the former main street of Rabaul, which was destroyed by volcanic ash in an eruption in 1994.
Many gathered around the cenotaph for the candle-lit service, with hymns, the Last Post and readings.
Men in lap-lap traditional dress handed out shell money, or Tabu, as a way to honour the fallen and those who gathered.
The site is significant and has ties to Australia's military history.
Nearby at the battle of Bita Paka, Australians were killed in during World War I while they were targeting a German wireless station.
In World War II, Japan captured Rabaul, causing Australian soldiers to retreat while many were captured and later drowned while travelling on transport ship SS Montevideo Maru.
Albanese delivers first Anzac Day address as nation's leader
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attended the national ceremony in Canberra, addressing thousands from the Australian War Memorial.
"Across our country this morning, Australians have gathered in peace, free citizens of a free nation," Mr Albanese said.
"108 years after those first Anzacs set off in their boats, we remember them and all who followed – and we reflect on all that has been made possible by generations of sacrifice."
Mr Albanese spoke about the national significance of Anzac Day to the gathered crowd.
"Gallipoli is just one battle in our history, but in all its stories of valour and resilience, in its simple truth of Australians looking out for each other no matter how bad things got, it has come to stand for something so much bigger in our collective heart," he said.
Mr Albanese said much had changed about the way war was conducted in the last 108 years, but the "great character of Australians at war" had not.
"Yet it must be acknowledged that we have not always honoured those who have fought in our name as well as we should," he said.
"We must acknowledge the truth that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who donned the khaki fought harder for Australia than Australia was sometimes willing to fight for them.
"If we are to truly honour our veterans, we owe them something more than just gratitude. Just as they stepped up for us, we must step up for them."
In closing his speech, Mr Albanese said Australia as a nation hoped that "war will one day be done," but said even if that happened, the commemoration of Anzac Day would continue.
"But even then, we will keep gathering before the dawn," he said.
Story by Tahlia Roy and Harriet Tatham
Original story link https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-25/anzac-day-2023-commemorated-across-australia/102261140
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