Australians Remember Fallen Soldiers at ANZAC Day Dawn Service

Braving heavy rains, thousands of people attended Dawn Services at Martin Place in downtown Sydney to commemorate those Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) soldiers who fought and gave their lives on the beaches of Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I.

Among other dignitaries attending the ceremony was the Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales, The Honorable James J. Spigelman, as well as the Premier of New South Wales, The Honorable Kristina Keneally MP.

Dawn Services commemorating the 1915 battle at Galliopli first began in 1927 when several service men who on their way home observed an elderly woman laying a sheaf of flowers at the Cenotaph Martin Place. Since then, Dawn Services have been held every year and now mark the official opening of ANZAC Day across Australia and around the world.