ANZAC Day 2013 Dawn Service

Today the Australian War Memorial hosted more than 30,000 visitors for the Dawn Service. This is a significant increase on last year.

“We are delighted with the attendances. ANZAC Day is Australia’s most significant national occasion, marking the anniversary of the landing on Gallipoli in April 1915. But this anniversary also encourages all Australians to reflect upon the ongoing sacrifices that brave Australian men and women continue to make on our behalf,” said Dr Brendan Nelson, Director of the Australian War Memorial.

This year, for the first time, photographs of Australian servicemen and women, accompanied by the names of iconic battlefields from over a century of conflicts, were projected onto the Memorial building. Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith VC MG also read personal accounts of Australian service in Afghanistan.

“We encourage those that could not join us earlier today to come to the National Ceremony commencing at 10.15 am,” Dr Nelson said.

This year’s veterans’ march will be led by the Royal Australian Army Chaplains, to commemorate 100 years of service. Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith VC MG will also join the march as part of the National Service. He will march alongside three children whose fathers, Sergeant Matthew Locke MG and Sergeant Blaine Diddams, lost their lives in Afghanistan.

“The Memorial will be open following the conclusion of the National Service so that poppies can be placed on the Roll of Honour and Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for those that never returned,” Dr Nelson said.

The Australian War Memorial is one of the nation’s most visited museums, a place where Australians can remember and learn about the Australian experience of war and its enduring impact on our society.