Australians will remember the courage shown by Anzac soldiers at Gallipoli during dawn services, laying of wreaths and marches across the nation.
Friday marks the 110th anniversary of Australian and New Zealand soldiers landing before dawn on Turkish shores on April 25, 1915, alongside British, French and Indian troops.
More than 8000 Australian soldiers died during the unsuccessful campaign to control the Dardanelles Strait.
Dawn services and marches across the nation would honour the enduring contributions of service personnel at Gallipoli and the 110 years since, RSL Australia national president Greg Melick said.
“The Gallipoli campaign was the first major military action involving Australian and New Zealand forces,” he said.
“They held their ground against almost impossible odds for eight months in the ravines and gullies of that rugged battleground, suffering terrible casualties.
“They fought with endurance, courage, ingenuity, good humour, and mateship.”
Governor-General Sam Mostyn, whose father served in the army for four decades, will be the most senior Australian representative at a dawn service at Gallipoli Cove.
“As commander-in-chief of the Australian Defence Force, the daughter of a veteran and a proud Australian, it will be a privilege to commemorate my first Anzac Day as Australia’s Governor-General at the 110th anniversary of the landing at Gallipoli,” she said.
Tens of thousands of people are expected to attend events around the nation including a dawn service at the Australian War Memorial.
Melbourne’s Anzac Day march starts at 8.30am and Sydney will follow at 9am with the annual parade starting in Martin Place and moving through city streets.
A parade in Brisbane will bring out thousands of people and in Perth a gunfire breakfast at Government House Gardens is expected to host about 2000 people.
The day will turn more festive with rousing roars as two-up, a past time for soldiers on the battlefield, is played at RSLs throughout Australia.
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