Australians have gathered at Anzac Day dawn services and parades across the country to honour those who served their country.
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.
Dawn services were followed by parades in towns and cities in every state and territory, as well as in Papua New Guinea and Gallipoli.
And with the official part of the day now over, function centres and watering holes across the country began buzzing with service personnel and onlookers to honour the fallen.
Australians camp at hallowed cove where Anzacs set foot
More than a thousand people turned out at Anzac Cove in Gallipoli, which was transformed into a sea of sleeping bags and beanies.
"It's been great so far. There's a great vibe," Sydney's Lliam Ferrier said.
"Everybody is getting behind each other. They've made friends."
Sea burial at largest regional dawn service
About 20,000 people turned out this morning to pay their respects at Currumbin on the Gold Coast, where the ashes of veterans were scattered in the ocean as part of a sea burial.
It was too rough for southern Gold Coast surf boat rowers to head out, so lifesavers in inflatable rescue boats scattered the ashes instead.
A love story amid war
World War II veteran Graham Richardson, who attended the dawn service in Sydney, served in the South Pacific.
The centenarian said while the atrocities of war made it a difficult day, there were also moments of joy.
"The happiest part about it was that I met the girl I married," he said.
Fellow WWII veteran Gordon Willoughby also paid tribute to the women who served.
"We owe a lot to the home front. We could not have been on the front line without them," he said.
Hundreds gather for 'Coloured Digger' event
Hundreds gathered in the inner-city Sydney suburb of Redfern for the Coloured Digger Event, which started in 2007 as a community effort to ensure the contribution of Indigenous soldiers was known and valued.
The event is named after the poem The Coloured Digger, by Sapper Bert Beros, a non-Indigenous soldier in World War II, who wrote about the war-time exploits of Murrawarri man Harold West.
Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney participates in the march every year.
"We're reminded in every speech that of course the Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders did not get the same treatment when they got home," she said.
'Anzac Day is about family'
RSL Ambassador Peter Rudland also attended the ceremony in Sydney's Martin Place, which is credited as the birthplace of the dawn service.
He 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 said "Anzac Day is about family" as he attended this the ceremony along with his nine-year-old son Talon.
"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."
Thousands lined Elizabeth Street for the march, with many waving flags to pay tribute to their fallen "heroes".
Unlike previous years, which were dampened by rain or COVID, the 2023 march saw crowds return.
'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 in the morning, veterans, soldiers, and their supporters marched from Princes Bridge back to the shrine for a wreath laying ceremony.
Around 5,000 people gathered on the foreshore of Corio Bay in the Victorian coastal city of Geelong.
The town hall's facade was transformed by light projections featuring historical images, paintings and monuments.
Former serviceman Kevin Egan, 85, attended with his son Jeremy who was the third generation of their family to serve their country.
Mr Egan said the local service was an important reminder of the sacrifices made by local families, as well as a proud day for those who had served.
Crowds brave the wet weather
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.
Honouring first all-Indigenous infantry battalion
In Townsville, the Torres Strait Light Infantry Battalion participated in the Anzac Day march for the first time, marking the 80th anniversary of its wartime inception.
It was the first all-indigenous infantry battalion of the Australian Army during the WWII.
Initially raised as a company-sized unit in 1941, it was expanded to a full battalion in 1942, fighting in New Guinea against the advancing imperial Japanese military.
Francis Tapim is a Torres Strait Islander elder of the Townsville community.
His father fought for the battalion in and he said it was emotional to see the battalion recognised in the march 80 years later.
"My father was 16 years old when he voluntarily enlisted in the Torres Strait Islander Light Infantry Battalion — at that time, we weren't recognised as Australian citizens," Mr Tapim said.
25 names added to honour roll
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.
'Hidden wounds' of war recognised
Western Australia was last to wake up to dawn services.
Veteran and former politician Graham Edwards attended the Perth service and reflected on the personal battles faced by veterans.
"I was lucky. My wounds were visible. But for others, that part was much more painful, difficult and confronting," he said.
"Their wounds were hidden, not recognised, not understood, and not treated.
"Today, thankfully, we recognise and treat post traumatic stress disorder. That is of particular importance to those who still serve and those who recently served."
Thousands also gathered in Albany on WA's south coast, which was the last place in Australia that many troops saw before being killed in Gallipoli.
In late 1914, more than 41,000 troops and horses left from King George Sound in two large convoys, travelling to Egypt to train for WWI before heading to Gallipoli.
First Nations people honoured by corroboree, haka
In honour of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service men and women, an Indigenous ANZAC service was held at the Supreme Court Gardens in Perth.
The event included a welcome to country and smoking ceremony, followed by a special corroboree — a traditional Aboriginal dance and the haka — an ancient Maori war dance.
Hundreds of people watched on as the two cultures united, cheering and clapping as the performers hugged one another during an emotional ending.
Elsewhere in WA, Police Commissioner Col Blanch was among those to pay his respects at the service held in Geraldton.
Rain caused Bunbury crowds to quickly disperse after the dawn service.
Brilliant sunrise greets early Tasmanian mourners
In Australia's island state, hundreds of people gathered at Hobart's cenotaph for its dawn service.
Dean of Hobart the Very Reverend Richard Humphrey led the service, urging those attending to remember with pride and gratitude all those who served and died in conflict.
He also encouraged Australians to use the day not just as recognition of the past, but to change the future.
"We cannot remember the sacrifice of those that we remember today without also working for peace," he said.
Surf lifesavers from across Tasmania's north-west coast rowed and paddled to the town of Penguin, as part of the Anzac service.
About 600 people attended the service in the coastal town.
Locals ensure service goes ahead
At Huonville, south of Hobart, a last-minute local effort ensured commemorations went ahead.
Just a month ago, there were no plans for official Anzac Day events but local woman Louella Jury wanted to bring the community together.
With a committee of just two other people, they organised a dawn service, march and second service later in the morning.
"We were preparing for the dawn service, we were wondering whether anyone would know about it and whether anyone would be coming," Ms Jury said.
"And then we saw people filing in through the fog and the sunrise came and I looked around and there were hundreds of people here and I couldn't believe it."
Waving goodbye for the last time
In the top end, thousands attended Darwin's cenotaph for the dawn service which was followed by marches across the Northern Territory.
Delivering his first speech as Administrator of the Northern Territory, Professor Hugh Heggie paid tribute to those who had fallen in war.
"We also remember those who lost loved ones, and those unknowingly farewelling their loved ones for the last time," Professor Heggie said.
"We cannot begin to imagine their anguish."
"We thank you for your service and for the incredible sacrifices you have made in the pursuit of peace."
Marches have been held in Darwin, Katherine, Alice Springs and Tennant Creek.
Australia's neighbours recognise sacrifice and legend
Overseas, Anzacs and Papua New Guineans have been honoured at a dawn service in Rabaul in PNG'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.
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.
As the ceremonies and marches wound up, thousands piled into pubs around the nation to play two-up and remember the fallen over a pint.
Albanese delivers first Anzac Day address as nation's leader
In his first Anzac Day address since becoming leader, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addressed the crowd at the dawn service this morning at 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."
