Commemoration of Anzac Day across the years

First Anzac Day

News of the Gallipoli campaign reached Australians on the homefront in the weeks and months following the landing on 25 April 1915. 

When the first Violet Day, a remembrance and fundraising day for wounded soldiers, was held in South Australia on 2 July 1915, the South Australian Governor, Sir Henry Galway, said:

‘If any day is to be chosen for Australia's day I think it should be April 25 … Those heroes will hand down the finest traditions to their sons and their son's sons, and still further on.’

Although the landing at Gallipoli was a military defeat for the Australian and New Zealander Corps I and II (shortened to ANZAC I and II), as well as allied forces, many Australians sought to remember the event. In 1916, Australia’s Acting Prime Minister, George Pearce, officially named 25 April as 'Anzac Day'. 

The first Anzac Day commemorations were held on 25 April 1916.

Some 2,000 Australian and New Zealand troops from Gallipoli lined the streets of London while soldiers in Egypt, many of them veterans of the campaign, held services in the morning followed by a sports day.

For the remaining years of the war, Anzac Day was used as an occasion for patriotic rallies and recruiting campaigns while serving members of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) marched in cities and held services overseas.

After the First World War

During the 1920s Anzac Day became the nationally recognised day of commemoration for those who had served in the First World War and to remember the approximate 60,000 Australians who had died during while deployed overseas. By 1927, every state observed Anzac Day as a public holiday. 

By the mid–1930s all the rituals associated with Anzac Day ceremonies—dawn vigils, marches, memorial services, reunions, two–up games—were an established part of wartime remembrance. 

During the same time the Returned Services League (RSL) called for greater acknowledgement of living veterans and the hardships of th First World War.

The Second World War and beyond

The Australian War Memorial began to hold Anzac Day ceremonies after its opened in 1942. The service was relatively small given the government orders which prevented mass public gatherings in case of Japanese air raids. 

Anzac Day ceremonies began to incorporate a greater diversity of veterans after personnel returned from the Second World War. Second World War veterans participated in marches alongside those who fought during the First World War. 

The remit of Anzac Day commemoration continued to expand as Australia participated in Cold War conflicts of the 1950s and 1960s including conflicts and occupations in Japan Korea, Malaysia, and Indonesia. 

In the 1970s, some Australians returning from the Vietnam War felt their service was not appropriately recognised. Some veterans felt that they were not considered part of the Anzac tradition and chose not to participate in commemorations. A special Australian Vietnam Forces Welcome Home Parade was held in Sydney on 3 October 1987 which, along with other events held across Australia that weekend, sought to provide more appropriate recognition for those who served in Vietnam. 

Today, Anzac Day ceremonies and marches commemorate all Australians who have served in wars, conflicts and peace operations. Since 1947, Australians have served in more than 70 international peace operations in more than 60 countries including East Timor (Timor-Leste), Rwanda, Solomon Islands and the Middle East.

Anzac Day is also an opportunity to acknowledge the sacrifices made by families while their loved ones are serving and the support they provide.

National dawn service and ceremony

Each year in Canberra, the Anzac Day Dawn Service and RSL Veterans' March are held at the Australian War Memorial.

Gallipoli service

In the 1980s Australian travellers increasingly began to gather at Anzac Cove in Türkiye for the official Anzac Day ceremony.

In 2015, on the one hundredth anniversary of the landings, more than 10,000 Australians and New Zealanders attended the Gallipoli Dawn Service.

Gallipoli remains an important place in the collective memory of the First World War for many Australians. Australians visit to connect with family stories and celebrate their national identity.

Overseas services

The Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) delivers and supports Anzac Day services overseas. These commemorative ceremonies include:

  • Anzac Day Service, Gallipoli, Türkiye
  • Anzac Day Service, Villers-Bretonneux, France
  • Anzac Day Service, Hellfire Pass, Thailand
  • Anzac Day Service, Sandakan, Malaysia
  • Anzac Day Service, Port Moresby (Bomana) War Cemetery and Isurava Papua New Guinea

More information