Thousands of Australians and New Zealanders have gathered for Anzac Day dawn services and parades across both countries to honour those who served.

This year marks 109 years since Australian and New Zealand soldiers landed on the Turkish coastline at Gallipoli during World War I.

Their eight-month battle was ultimately unsuccessful, but their courage and bravery amid hardship have become an enduring symbol of military sacrifice.

The day now honours the more than 1.5 million men and women who have served Australia in all conflicts, wars and peacekeeping operations, and the 103,000 Australians who lost their lives while serving.

Dawn services were held in cities and towns across every state and territory in Australia, in Papua New Guinea and Samoa, and a later service at Gallipoli at dawn local time.

First Nations march

On Gadigal Country in Sydney’s Redfern, a large crowd gathered to recognise the service of First Nations men and women on Thursday.

In attendance were former and current Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander defence personnel as well as their families, and allies.

Dignitaries such as the Governor of New South Wales, Margaret Beazley, the Minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney and the Minister for the Environment and Water, Tanya Plibersek, were also in attendance.

They walked through the streets of Redfern, led by a light horse and accompanied by a didgeridoo and traditional dances, ending at Redfern Park.

Pastor Ray Minniecon, who co-founded the event, said it was about truth-telling and recognition.

“Here in Australia, we’ve whitewashed the services of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander services servicemen, and we’ve also whitewashed the frontier wars. So we’ve got a long way to go,” he says.

‘I’m the last one left’

Earlier, the thrum of 40 bands sounded out across Sydney’s CBD as the Anzac Day March made its way from Martin Place to Hyde Park.

People waving Australian flags lined the streets and cheered as about 10,000 serving and ex-service members walk alongside taxis filled with veterans from World War II.

Centenarian Vincent Ball travelled down for the parade this year inside a Land Rover, with several other older veterans.

He used to march with his troop of 10 as part of the Odd Bods.

“We made a pact that at least someone would come every year, to remember those who are not with us anymore,” he said.

“And I’m the last one left.

“I come here and see a lot of ghostly faces.”

Donald Kennedy joined the Merchant Navy at 16-years-old, and went on to serve in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans during World War II.

He has been marching in the Anzac parade for 70 years, and turned up today for a good reason.

“Because I’m still alive,” he said.

Later, two-up games were held at the Australian Heritage Hotel in the Rocks.

Legal in New South Wales only on three days each year, the betting game has drawn a huge crowd.

Lieutenant Adam Wholohan was given the honour of throwing the first coins.

‘We feel the weight of history’

The National Dawn Service at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra has wrapped up, with more than 32,000 people paying their respects.

This year’s commemorative address was delivered by Vice-Admiral David Johnston, the incoming chief of the defence force.

“We know how many Australians have died in the service of our country but we do not know how many grieve each Anzac Day. How many are grieving amongst us today?” Vice-Admiral Johnson told the service.

After spending two days trekking on the Kokoda Track, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has attended a dawn service at one of the crucial battlegrounds of the Pacific in World War II.

On a cool, clear morning high in the mountains of Papua New Guinea, Mr Albanese paid tribute to the Australian and Papuan infantry, as well as the villagers, who suffered in 1942.

“We feel the weight of history as we gather here along the Kokoda Track, this great artery of mud and suffering and perseverance that has come to occupy a place of singular power in Australia’s shared memory,” he said.

In Samoa’s capital, Apia, Prime Minister Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa paid tribute to those who’ve fought and sacrificed to defend their way of life.

At a dawn service at Adelaide’s National War Memorial, one of the centrepieces of local Anzac Day commemorations, a densely packed gathering heard messages of remembrance and mourning.

Chair of the RSL Anzac Day Committee Ian Smith spoke of the importance of continuing to pause and reflect on Anzac Day, but also of safeguarding it.

He used the sombre opportunity to reflect on the occasion’s ongoing relevance.

“The conflicts raging today in Ukraine and Gaza remind us that warfare is brutal, destructive and costly. It is an experience that often takes an extreme toll [on] the civilian population.

‘They didn’t have any rights, but they went and did it’

In the Northern Territory, the humming drone of a didgeridoo opened a dawn service attended by hundreds near Darwin Harbour.

Brigadier Douglas Pashley, Commander of the 1st Brigade, highlighted the efforts of Indigenous Territorians during World War II when the Top End was bombed by Japanese forces.

He spoke of Tiwi Islands man Matthias Ulungura, who became the first Australian to take a Japanese prisoner of war on Australian soil when he captured a pilot who crash landed on Melville Island.

More than 1,000 people gathered at the Garden Cemetery in Alice Springs to commemorate Australian service personnel.

Among them was senior Arrernte woman and historian Pat Ansell Dodds whose father, Jack Ansell, fought in World War II.

“There was a special unit for Aboriginal soldiers at the time,” she said.

“They served all around Australia and they went to Papua New Guinea. A lot of the fellas were from Alice Springs.

“They didn’t have any rights, but they went and did it.”

Thousands gather in the west

Thousands of people gathered at Kings Park in Perth for the city’s Anzac Day dawn service.

Crowds turned up amid cold and windy conditions, with the service incorporating elements from times past, such as poetry readings and the song Abide With Me.

Those in attendance included war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith, who has largely stayed out of the public gaze since he lost a high profile defamation trial last year, which he is now appealing.

Former SAS Commander James McMahon told the gathering Anzac Day provided the opportunity to reflect on our values as a nation.

He said courage, mateship, determination and innovation were Australian values that were a gift from the Anzacs.

In Albany, a crowd of more than 5,000 people turned out for the dawn service, with the RSL saying it could be a record number.

Albany was the last place in Australia many of the Anzacs saw before heading off to war, with two convoys of Australian and New Zealand ships gathering in King George Sound before setting sail.

Surrounded by shadowing boab trees, hundreds of people gathered at Broome’s Bedford Park in Western Australia’s Kimberley, as the sun rose over the waters of Roebuck Bay.

RSL president Keith Vomiero said the country service was quite unique, given Broome’s ties to World War II.

“There’s a lot of people in Broome because of past war days who respect the day in general,” Mr Vomiero said.

More than 100 people, mostly Dutch refugees, were killed during the 1942 air raids on the town.

‘Everyone came down’

At the Cenotaph in Hobart, former Tasmanian soldier Mark Direen was with other men he had served with in the SAS.

His friends had travelled from interstate to be with him in Hobart on Thursday.

“We’ve got people from Western Australia, Queensland and Victoria,” he said.

“Every year we meet up in a different location and this year it was everyone’s turn to come to my house, everyone came down to Hobart.”

He said it was good to get together with fellow veterans on Anzac Day “who understand you, understand what you’ve been through in your service”.

Another onlooker in Hobart, Josh Potts, wanted to remember those from his family and the wider community who had served over the years.

He brought his daughter Natalie to her first dawn service.

“I think it’s good for the young generation to grow up and learn respect for the services,” he said.

People travel from far and wide for Sydney services

Thousands turned out for Sydney’s official dawn service to commemorate Anzac Day 110 years after the declaration of World War 1.

Premier Chris Minns and Governor-General Margaret Beazley spoke at the 90th ceremony in Martin Place, with NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb and Opposition Leader Mark Speakman amongst those who laid wreaths at the cenotaph.

Veteran Sarah Watson has served in the Australian military for 18 years, including a posting to Iraq.

She travelled from Yass Valley with her two sons George and David, to share the importance of this day with her family.

It’s the friendships she forged while serving in Iraq that are most memorable for her, but also, the impact service had on her family.

“I was married, but the issues associated with service and health battles afterwards, sort of, led to my marriage breakdown.

“So I think it’s the cost of that, you know, we have a high divorce rate in the ADF and veteran community.

In Sydney’s West, hundreds of people woke up to watch the sunrise and pay their respects to Australia’s service men and women at Castle Hill.

‘A new tradition’

In Queensland, thousands attended the dawn service in Brisbane which started with the traditional lowering of flags to half mast.

Queensland’s Governor Jeannette Young addressed the service before leading the wreath laying ceremony.

Dean Davies and Ian Withrington both served in the Australian Army at Bougainville in 1994 as peacekeepers but never met.

After spending the last four years chatting on social media and calling each other, they decided this year’s Anzac Day service in Brisbane would be the day to meet.

“This Anzac Day has started a new tradition for us” said Mr Davies.

“We were on the flight deck on the HMAS Tobruk. He was on the port side and I was on the starboard side,” said Mr Withrington.

Thousands of people have also gathered at Currumbin Beach on the Gold Coast for Anzac Day commemorations.

It’s the largest Anzac Day service in regional Australia.

In Australia’s largest garrison city, Townsville, thousands marched along the Strand, with Colonel Boni Aruma taking the salute.

Francis Tapim represented his father Melpal Tapim, who served with the Torres Strait light infantry battalion, during World War II.

Mr Tapim said his father, from Murray Island, had been just 16, and lied about his age.

His father was sent to Papua New Guinea.

“It’s good to see Torres Strait Islanders get recognition, for our fathers and fore-fathers.”

Peacekeeping remembered in Victoria

In Victoria, thousands of people gathered at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, despite the threat of rain on Thursday morning.

This year’s dawn service in Melbourne is focusing on the work of Australian peacekeepers, which stretches back 76 years.

Victoria’s Governor Margaret Gardner told those gathered at the shrine that it was important to continue to honour those who have served their country in wartime and peacetime.

“Anzac Day matters not only because of the stories that were recorded but because of the stories that went unrecorded,” she said.

“Those who volunteered their lives and were not singled out for mention.”

Thousands of people made the early morning march to Geelong’s Eastern Beach foreshore on Thursday morning, packing out what is likely to be Victoria’s biggest dawn service outside of Melbourne.

Geelong RSL vice-president Matthew Jack spoke at the Eastern Beach dawn service, thanking the public for their attendance and support.

“There’s nothing worse than [when] you hear the negative side of [a] country’s sending soldiers out to war, so it’s good to see when you come back that the community is behind you,” Mr Jack said.

This year’s ANZAC Day commemorates the 25th anniversary of an Australian-led deployment to East Timor.

Thursday was not the first time Mr Jack has dealt with the ABC, having been alongside a television crew in October 1999 when he and his fellow troops were fired upon in East Timor’s border town of Motaain.

ABC cameras caught the moment, and ensuing firefight and conversations between opposing forces, which appeared to show the shootout had been sparked by differing maps of the region and confusion over the location of the border.

“I was on the first plane with 2RAR (second battalion, Royal Australian Regiment) to support East Timor independence, on the 20th of September, ’99,” he said.