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Anzac Day marked across Australia as crowds return to public ceremonies and parades

Anzac Day dawn services held across Australia.

Dawn ceremonies across the country have honoured the men and women who died in armed conflict while serving Australia.

Today's Anzac Day services are the first in three years to welcome the general public, after the COVID-19 pandemic heavily disrupted the 2020 and 2021 commemorations.

It was 107 years ago today that Australian and New Zealand soldiers landed on Turkey's Gallipoli Peninsula during World War I.

The Anzacs were defeated after eight months, after suffering great hardships and mass casualties.

But their bravery has become an enduring symbol of military sacrifice.

Mikey Mohamad wears his grandfather and great grandfather’s medals at the Hobart Anzac Day parade. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)

This year also marks the 80th anniversaries of pivotal moments for Australia during World War II, including the bombing of Darwin, the fall of Singapore and the Kokoda Track campaign against Japanese forces in Papua.

At the Australian War Memorial in Canberra this morning, the navy's archdeacon, Andrew Lewis, reflected on the original Anzacs' legacy.

About 18,200 attended the dawn service at Canberra's Australian War Memorial. (ABC News: Greg Nelson ACS)

He urged Australians to learn from their commitment to each other and willingness to sacrifice.

"Let us give our utmost to make the world what they would have wished it to be: a better and happier place for all its people, through whatever means are open to us."

An estimated crowd of 18,200 attended the early ceremony in Canberra.

The Sydney ceremony began at 4:30am, the time Anzac troops landed at Gallipoli. (AAP: Bianca De Marchi)

The day's first national event was held earlier at Sydney's Martin Place Cenotaph at 4:30am — the time Anzac troops landed at Gallipoli on April 25, 1915.

The RSL's New South Wales president, navy veteran Ray James, said "enormous crowds" turned up for the pre-dawn service despite wet weather.

"The last few years have been really hard with COVID-19," he said.

"I'm really delighted to see the enormous crowds that have shown up today. The whole Martin Place is just packed."

Leonard McLeod lied about his age to enlist in World War II as a 15-year-old. (ABC News: Kamin Gock)

Leonard McLeod, one of relatively few surviving veterans from World War II,  attended the Sydney service.

He spent his 16th birthday with the Australian Army in Papua, having told authorities he was 22.

"It's pretty hard for me to talk about it because I lost a lot of friends."

Mr McLeod said he was among the first recruits at the Canungra jungle warfare centre in Queensland.

"When they opened the gates, about 500 to 600 came up to train," he said.

Cabravale in western Sydney hosts one of many suburban ceremonies across the country. (ABC News: Jake Lapham)

At Cabravale Memorial Park in south-west Sydney, current and former military personnel were joined by family and friends as they marched just before 6am.

It was one of many smaller suburban services held across the country.

A boy listens to the service at Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance. (ABC News: Danielle Bonica)

In Melbourne, about 50,000 people embraced the opportunity to gather at the Shrine of Remembrance at dawn.

The state's Governor, Linda Dessau, said Anzac Day still affected generations of Victorians.

Victoria's Governor says Anzac Day still carries significant meaning for many people across the state. (ABC News: Danielle Bonica)

"The Shrine of Remembrance is the living soul of Melbourne, and this soul will remain alive — this eternal flame will keep burning — as long as we keep returning and remembering," Ms Dessau said.

Onlookers watching the march in Melbourne. (ABC News: Danielle Bodica)

In Townsville, home to one of Australia's largest military communities, Chief of Army Lieutenant-General Rick Burr led the dawn service in the pouring rain.

General Burr told the story of Private Adam Cardno Alexander, who enlisted in the army in 1916.

The private was killed aged 26 while fighting German forces in France.

He has no known grave but is commemorated at the Townsville cenotaph.

Rain falls throughout the dawn ceremony at Townsville's cenotaph. (ABC News: Zilla Gordon)

"His name is the first of 116 names listed on the memorial of those who made the ultimate sacrifice," General Burr said.

He also praised personnel who had served in recent years, continuing the Anzac tradition of bravery.

"We can all be proud of the Australia Defence Force personnel who helped evacuate civilians from the deteriorating situation in Kabul last year," he said.

Troops march in Townsville's Anzac Day parade. (ABC News: Zilla Gordon)

Darwin's dawn service hosted the country's two main federal political leaders, who had spent yesterday campaigning in the Northern Territory.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and deputy Labor leader Richard Marles — filling in for Anthony Albanese, who is in COVID-19 isolation — both spoke about the war in Ukraine.

A navy servicewoman at the Darwin dawn service. (ABC News: Matt Roberts)

"Our world is changing, war does stalk Europe again, coercion troubles our region once more," Mr Morrison said.

Mr Marles said this Anzac Day was also a time to reflect on the suffering and sacrifices of people in Ukraine — and to offer support to Ukraine-Australians.

Both Scott Morrison (centre) and Labor's Richard Marles (second from right) say the situation in Ukraine is a reminder of the terrible sacrifices of war. (ABC News: Che Chorley)

In Western Australia, a bugle sounded at Perth's Kings Park for the first time in three years, as official commemorations returned to the State War Memorial.

However, only a few hundred people attended the invite-only dawn service, which was limited by the state's COVID-19 restrictions.

The site usually attracts a crowd of thousands on Anzac Day but authorities were concerned about vulnerable veterans getting infected.

The small service at Perth's Kings Park was invite-only amid fears of spreading coronavirus. (ABC News: Andrew O'Connor)

In contrast, almost 3,000 people were at Hobart's dawn service, a crowd approaching pre-pandemic levels.

Hobart RSL branch president Kieran Lennard said the numbers were wonderful after last year's small-scale ceremony.

Later in the morning, thousands of people lined Macquarie Street to watch veterans march through the city centre.

Staff Sergeant Graeme Curran leads the Hobart Army Band on his final day of service after 51 years in the army. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)

Meanwhile, in Tasmania's north, Godway Williams told his story of fleeing civil war in West Africa as a baby.

Godway, now a school student in Launceston, said war stole not only lives but people's opportunities to live in their homeland and have normal childhoods.

A child watches the march in Hobart. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)

"In Australia, there is no war, there are no columns of refugees lining the roads and we can wake up feeling safe," he said.

Wreaths were laid by school children in Launceston. (ABC News: Damien McIntyre)

In his Anzac Day address, Governor-General David Hurley said the Anzac legacy "must continue to evolve."

"It's important that we think of the ANZAC legacy in modern terms as well in the context of service in places like Somalia, Namibia, East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan," he said.

"In the context of our modern veterans and their needs, recognising their service and contributions, and for some, the scars they bear because of it."

He said Anzac Day was about more than veterans alone.

"Recognising too, the critical roles played by their loved ones and understanding that while they didn't march in parades or receive medals, parents, husbands and wives, partners and children are also part of the Anzac legacy," he said.

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