What is ANZAC Day ?

     ANZAC Day is commemorated by Australia and New Zealand on 25 April every year to remember members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who in the Battle of Gallipoli landed at Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I.

     The dawn service on ANZAC Day has become a solemn Australian and New Zealand tradition. It is taken for granted as part of the ANZAC ethos and few wonder how it all started

     ANZAC Day - 25 April - is probably Australia's most important national occasion. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The soldiers in those forces quickly became known as ANZACs, and the pride they soon took in that name endures to this day. ANZAC Day is a National public holiday and is considered one of the most spiritual and solemn days of the year in Australia. Marches by veterans from all past wars, current serving members of the Australian Defence Force, and cadets, are held in capital cities and towns nationwide

     New Zealand's Commemoration of ANZAC Day is similar, though on several occasions the day has become an opportunity for some groups for political protest. The number of New Zealanders attending ANZAC Day events in New Zealand, and at Gallipoli, is increasing. For some younger people, the sombre focus of the day receives less emphasis than do the more celebratory aspects of a National holiday. For most, though, the day is an occasion on which to formally pay tribute and to remember.

     1990, to mark the 75th anniversary of the Gallipoli landing, Government officials from Australia and New Zealand as well as most of the last surviving Gallipoli veterans, and many Australian and New Zealand tourists travelled to Turkey for a special Dawn Service at Gallipoli. The service at dawn in Gallipoli has since become popular to attend on ANZAC Day. Upwards of 15,000 people have attended services in Gallipoli. Until 1999, the Gallipoli Dawn Service was held at the Ari Burnu War Cemetery at ANZAC Cove, but the growing numbers of people attending resulted in the construction of a more spacious site on North Beach, known as the "ANZAC Commemorative Site".

What does it mean today?

     Australians recognise 25 April as an occasion of national commemoration. Commemorative services are held at dawn, the time of the original landing, across the nation. Later in the day ex-servicemen and women meet and join in marches through the major cities and many smaller centres. Commemorative ceremonies are held at war memorials around the country. It is a day when Australians reflect on the many different meanings of war. ANZAC Day (25 April) is observed in New Zealand as a day of commemoration for those who died in the service of their country and to honour returned servicemen and women

     25 April is the anniversary of the landing of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps at Gallipoli in 1915. On the first anniversary of that landing services were held throughout the country in remembrance of the 2,721 New Zealand soldiers who died during the eight-month Gallipoli Campaign. Since 1916 ANZAC Day has evolved to the observance we know today.

     The Anzac tradition - the ideals of courage, endurance and mateship that are still relevant today was established on 25 April 1915 when the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula.