Anzac Day services draw thousands.
Thousands of Australians around the nation have gathered at dawn services to commemorate Anzac Day.Prayers of thanksgiving for all of the brave Australian and New Zealand servicemen and women who have served their nations well in the name of freedom. Posted by Kyer at April 24, 2006 05:11 PM | TrackBackIt is the 91st anniversary of the Gallipoli landing after which more than 8,000 Australian troops lost their lives.
It is also the 90th anniversary of the arrival of Australian troops on the Western Front.
The traditional services coincide with the pre-dawn hour the first Anzac troops waded ashore at Gallipoli in 1915.
In Brisbane, a group of ex-servicemen marched through the city to Anzac Square and the Shrine of Remembrance.
There, they listened to 14-year-old Ipswich girl Elissa Coates, whose great-grandfather was among those who took part in the ill-fated landings.
"Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn," she recited.
"At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them."
In Sydney, Martin Place has been the focus of the ceremonies.
There are no World War I diggers left but some of their descendants have turned out.
The are also veterans of other wars and thousands of the young and old who just wanted to pay their respects.
Canberra's main dawn service has been held at the National War Memorial.
Many people carried candles as they listened to the Anzac dedication and observed a minute's silence as dawn crept over the horizon.
At Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance, thousands are expected to line up for hours after the dawn service to place floral tributes in the shrine sanctuary.