Prime Minister attends dawn service at the War Memorial in Canberra

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Many gathered in the nation's capital this morning to attend formal ceremonies at the Australian War Memorial as part of its Anzac Day commemorations.

Transcript

00:00It was the first time that the new parade ground here at the Australian War Memorial

00:06behind me here has been used for an Anzac Day. It meant that they could have more people

00:11attend and attend they did. Thousands turned out for the National Commemorative Service

00:17with a march passed from veterans and serving members as well as family and relatives. And

00:24then earlier in the day at the dawn service tens of thousands packed in including Prime

00:29Minister Anthony Albanese for a solemn and a quiet dawn service. We spoke to some of

00:36the families and veterans who attended. Take a listen.

00:40It means a lot. It means a lot because everyone who served in there was really good and it helped

00:52us treat the way we are. I have these medals from my pa who was my dad's dad. He served

01:01in the Korean War. And I have my own medal from last year.

01:08And tell me, so why do you have a medal? Because we had it because we're in the defence.

01:19It's really important to recognise that this is the 110th anniversary of the landings at

01:24Gallipoli. Over 102,000 names are on the roll of honour at the Australian War Memorial. We

01:31march to pay our respects to them, those that serve with us. I served from 1966 to 7, 12 months. Most

01:41of the team done 12 months tour. We were the first in and the last out.

01:49Harry, there was also a service for Indigenous veterans.

01:54Yeah, shortly after the dawn service, a small ceremony, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait

01:59Islander commemorative ceremony was held in the sculpture garden just next to the Australian

02:04War Memorial. That didn't have quite as big a turnout as some of those larger national events.

02:08But Indigenous veterans say it was just as important, reflecting on the sacrifices made

02:15by Indigenous service people who had served overseas, even though they were facing discrimination

02:21back home, Jeremy.

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