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Anzac Day has been marked around the world, including at Gallipoli where the Anzac legend was born in 1915
An estimated 12,000 people, many of them New Zealanders and Australians, gathered to remember those who died at Gallipoli 92 years ago. One in four NZ soldiers died on Gallipoli's shores and on Wednesday as dawn broke their descendants and fellow Kiwis did their best to keep their memory alive.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters was in Turkey representing New Zealand. He told the large crowd gathered at Gallipoli it has become a sacred place for New Zealanders.
"The bravery of our soldiers and the losses they suffered here 92 years ago remain seared into our history books and archives, and into our national psyche," he said.
Peters said the Anzac camaraderie forged at Gallipoli between New Zealand and Australian soldiers remains a fundamental part of the relationship between the two countries today.
"A spirit of reconciliation and shared grief over the dead has grown into a wide and constructive relationship that we now share with the government and people of Turkey."
Peters said the numbers at Anzac Day services show that the sacrifices the soldiers made will never be forgotten.
Australia's Defence Force Vice Chief Lieutenant General Ken Gillespie captured the fateful landing by reading the words of Australia's official historian at Gallipoli, Charles Bean.
The Turkish loss at gallipoli was also remembered with Turkish military officers reading a quotation taken from a speech made by the first president of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
Ataturk led and inspired the Turkish forces at Gallipoli.
The service concluded with New Zealand navy chief Rear Admiral David Ian Ledson reading the Anzac Ode, before the last post sounded as the sun rose. A two minute silence to remember all those who died in war followed.
Anzac Cove is a sacred sight for New Zealanders and Australians. Many travel to the cove on a personal journey.
"It's quite a serious experience everyone's here, no one's here for a party we're just all here to pay respect to those people who believed enough in New Zealand to die for it here," said Hannah Warren.
Others say it is part of our national pride.
"I think it's kind of a right of passage for New Zealanders in terms of their respect for New Zealand and just what they believe in for their country," said Warren.
Around the world
Defence Minister Phil Goff addressed New Zealand troops stationed in Afghanistan.
New Zealand has around 116 personnel working in Bamyan as part of the Provincial Reconstruction Team.
"We come together on this occasion, not to glorify war, but to reaffirm our commitment to creating a just and peaceful world, so that those who gave their lives did not do so in vain." Goff said.
"To the men and women of the New Zealand Defence Force in
Bamyan, so far away from your homes, and making a difference in
this land, thank you for your commitment. Thank you
for the manner in which you make the Kiwi emblem you wear on your
shoulders a sign of respect for, and partnership with, the people
in whose country you work."
Agriculture Minister Jim Anderton represented the government at an Anzac Day ceremony at the Commonwealth War Cemetery at Hodogaya in Yokohama, Japan.
He read the Ode for the Fallen during the service and then laid a wreath in the New Zealand section of the cemetery.
Commemorations have also been held in the Solomon Islands where New Zealand troops are working with the Australians to help the region recover from the recent tsunami.
Major Tausia Tarsau says the Anzac Spirit is alive and well and will stay that way for the future.
Elsewhere, 28 veterans from New Zealand have been flown over to the demilitarised zone between North Korea and South Korea to take part in services there. Lieutenant James Field believes the Anzac Day spirit is living on, despite the veterans themselves growing older and fewer.
He says it is the first service he has been involved in abroad and he expects quite a large reception. Field says it is a real honour to have the veterans attend the services.
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