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It was a still Anzac Day morning in Bendigo where thousands turned out to pay their respects at the annual dawn service, marking 103 years since the landing at Anzac Cove.
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The service started with a march along Pall Mall led by a pipe band followed by a troop of veterans, servicemen, servicewomen and relatives.
John South read a prayer before a poem was recited to the crowd, which highlighted the triumph of the Anzacs.
Bendigo District RSL Sub-Branch president Peter Swandale then laid a wreath at the cenotaph before he spoke about courage, determination and mateship during the Anzac Day address.
More coverage: Your guide to Anzac Day 2018 in Bendigo and central Victoria
“This morning I stand side by side with you, the Bendigo and district community to remember our Anzac heroes who over 100 years ago stood side-by-side with their mates at daybreak,” Mr Swandale said.
The Anzac Day dawn service concluded with an ode, the Last Post, the New Zealand and Australian national anthems, and a performance from the Bendigo Youth Choir.
Members of the crowd included a mixture of young and old, sharing a moment together which left many in awe of the sacrifice servicemen and servicewomen made for their country and to acknowledge those currently serving.
Spectator Brodie Dempster brought her two young sons Hurley and Reid to their first dawn service.
“They both wanted to come this morning because they have been learning about the Anzacs at school,” Ms Dempster said.
“They were interested in coming to pay their respects.”
Participants in the march were met with loud applause from the crowd as they made their way back to the Soldiers Memorial Institute.
The service was followed with a traditional gunfire breakfast for veterans and their family.
‘A sea of people’
This year’s Anzac Day dawn service was the biggest new Bendigo District RSL Sub-branch president Peter Swandale has ever seen.
Thousands of people turned out for the solemn event, with a sizeable crowd having gathered around the cenotaph well before the march and service began.
“All I saw was a sea of people, on the podium,” Mr Swandale said.
He said he believed the resurgence in numbers attending the dawn service in recent years was the result of more education around the sacrifices Australia’s service people had made, as well as this year marking the centenary of the 1918 armistice.
Having served in conflicts in Bougainville, East Timor and Iraq, Mr Swandale said he very much appreciated seeing so many people coming out for the dawn service to pay their respects.
“It makes me very happy, and proud, very proud,” he said.
Iraq and Afghanistan veteran Leon Ward attended his first dawn service in Bendigo this morning, having left the force earlier this year.
He too was pleased by the large crowd, and did not expect to see quite so many people.
“It’s exciting to see,” Mr Ward said.
He said he hoped the crowd would continue to grow in coming years, first for the remaining World War II veterans and then for those who served in more recent conflicts as they too grew older.
“I think it’s important that was have these people to continue the legacy of the memories,” Mr Ward said.