Tuesday 25 April 2023

At dawn, one hundred and eight years ago, some 16,000 Australian and New Zealand soldiers landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula.

For many of the young soldiers, those early hours of 25th April 1915 marked them for life, as they came under fire for the first time. By that first evening, more than 2,000 has been killed or wounded.

But it also marked birth of a nation as the crucible of war forged an Australian identify built on ANZAC values: courage, service, ingenuity, endurance and mateship.

Today, ANZAC Day is one of the most significant days on our national calendar.

Each year, Australians come together to honour the 1.5 million men and women who have served our country and remember more than 103,000 Australians who gave perished serving our country.

We will remember them.

Lest we forget.