• Anzac Day services are under way around New Zealand today.
• The national remembrance day services begin at dawn and continue through the day.
• Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will attend services in Gallipoli later today (NZT).

Thousands have gathered for Anzac Day services around the country as Kiwis remember our fallen servicemen and women.

Crowds flocked to Auckland Domain on Park Rd for the dawn service, which also recognises the past and present service of thousands of men and women in the country’s Army, Navy and Air Force.

After a 5.45am parade, the service began at 6am at the Court of Honour and Cenotaph outside the Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum in the Domain. A light rain started to fall as the service began.

“Let’s just pause in the dark and the silence and remember all those New Zealanders who have died in service,” Dr Stephen Clarke of Auckland RSA told those gathered.

Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro gave the Anzac address, speaking first in tereo and then English.

“From the darkness comes the dawning, oh you my ancestors. ..look now upon your descendants. We weep and pay our respects to you as you return … to your marae.”

A special welcome to the people who have served, and those who are currently serving, Kiro said.

“And we’re here to express our deep sorrow to those who never returned, or who subsequently died of their wounds.”

It has been 80 years since World War II ended, Kiro noted, but added that the trauma of loss “lingers for generations”.

To those serving now, “ we thank you”, understanding the toll it took, Kiro said.

Auckland’s service was briefly disrupted when a soldier fainted and needed help from two fellow soldiers.

Kiro then took part in the laying of the wreaths, one of which was laid on behalf of King Charles. Wreaths were also laid on behalf of the governments and people of New Zealand and Australia. Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown laid a wreath on behalf of Aucklanders.

The mayor of Arras, France, laid a wreath on behalf of the people of his city, which holds significant historical importance for Anzacs because of the 1917 battle where Australian and New Zealand troops fought alongside the British. New Zealand soldiers also contributed to a vital extensive underground tunnel system under Arras.

Other wreaths were laid at the Auckland Domain dawn service on behalf of the RSA, police and the Auckland War Memorial Museum.

In Wellington, the dawn service also began at 6am at the Pukeahu National War Memorial Park in Buckle St, with the national commemoration to follow at the same site from 11am.

The service began with the lament We Will Remember Them played on the bagpipes.

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24 April, 11:13 am

• Anzac Day: Why NZ remembers
• The country comes together on Friday April 25 to commemorate Anzac Day.
• The commemorations, which recognise the 2779 New Zealand soldiers and more than 8700 Australian troops who died at Gallipoli, also serve as a wider remembrance for all those who have served their country in times of war.
• The red poppy worn on April 25 has become a symbol for this remembrance and is recognised the world over.
• Anzac Day is a public holiday and most shops are closed until 1pm.

07:00 am

Auckland veteran taken away by ambulance officers

A veteran in the Auckland crowd has been taken away by ambulance officers.

Vanguard Military School is now performing a haka as the dawn service at Auckland Domain nears its end.

06:58 am

Christopher Luxon 'walking in the footsteps' of Anzacs

06:53 am

National anthems ring out at Auckland Domain

Both Anzac countries' anthems are now being played, Advance Australia first followed by God Defend New Zealand.

An Air Force helicopter has just flown over the Auckland dawn service.

Royal New Zealand Navy Chaplain Lloyd Salmon has led the Benediction, and now Time to Say Goodbye is playing as crowds applaud marching veterans.

06:45 am

06:44 am

Dawn Service at the Auckland Provincial Memorial Cenotaph at Waikumete Cemetery

06:43 am

The Last Post rings out at Auckland dawn service

In Auckland, the sky is beginning to lighten as The Last Post is played at the dawn service.

The elegy Fall the Fallen is being read to a silent crowd.

“We will remember them”, it ends.

A minute’s silence has just been broken by The Lament, played by Tim Chia, Pipe Major of The City of Auckland Pipe Band.

Bombardier Peter Mumby, RNZA has followed The Lament by playing Reveille.

06:41 am

Wreathes laid in Wellington

In Wellington, Kevin Arlidge, Wellington RSA president, is now delivering the Anzac dedication in Wellington.

Different representatives for various countries involved in Anzac have started laying wreaths.

Willis is laying one on behalf of New Zealand, one for Australia is being laid, as well as a wreath on behalf of the Republic of Türkiye.

06:38 am

Hundreds gather for Napier dawn service

06:36 am

Soldier died soon after wedding his bride

Admiral Matthew Williams, Vice Chief of the defence force, is speaking in Wellington. He is doing a reading.

Williams told a sad tale of Glen McBride, the man who married the love of his life three days before going off to war, where he died a week later. 

McBride's plane crashed, he said, killing him instantly. He is memorialised in Devonport.

Ambassador for the Republic of Türkiye to New Zealand, Omur Unsay, is now delivering a speech on behalf of her country.

06:33 am

Auckland mayor lays wreath

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has laid a wreath on behalf of Aucklanders.

The mayor of Arras is also laying a wreath on behalf of the people of Arras.

The city of Arras, France, holds significant historical importance for Anzacs due to the Battle of Arras in 1917, where Australian and New Zealand troops fought alongside the British.

New Zealand soldiers also contributed to the extensive underground tunnel system under Arras, vital for military operations.

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STORY CONTINUES

Taranaki iwi kaumatua Peter Jackson gave a speech in te reo to the crowds, before a prayer was read by Chaplin James Maloney in Wellington.

“We give thanks for their selfishness and enduring legacy... we also remember those who returned... whose loved ones were never the same.

“May we also be peacemakers in our time.”

Finance Minister Nicola Willis gave the Anzac Day address, welcoming veterans watching in person and at home. She thanked the people who joined her stage, including board members of the RSA, Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau and Defence Force members.

“We gather in the darkness to remember all those we have lost in war.”

“As we look for the first light, we connect with each other.”

Willis ended her speech with “promises of a new dawn” and her aspirations for a peaceful world.

Ambassador for the Republic of Turkey to New Zealand Omur Unsay is now delivering a speech on behalf of her country.

In Christchurch, war veterans gathered at 6.15am to parade from Worcester Bridge to Cathedral Square for the city’s traditional dawn service.

Details of other Anzac Day events taking place in other parts of the country today can be found here.

There will be many opportunities to learn more about Kiwis’ service in international conflicts over the past 111 years.

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The doors open at Auckland War Memorial Museum immediately after the city’s dawn service, with multiple programmes planned to help those interested in learning more.

Entry is free until the museum closes at 5pm. The museum’s underground carpark will also be free all day.

Tending the wounded at Gallipoli: Men of the New Zealand ambulance at work. Photo / The Auckland Weekly News

MyHeritage is also opening up free access to 2.3 billion historical records from New Zealand and Australia until April 29, including military records.

The Royal New Zealand Air Force is planning flypasts in various aircraft around the country today, including in NH90 and Seasprite helicopters.

A list of times and places for the weather-dependant fly-pasts is here.

Overseas Anzac services are also planned later today (NZT), including in Gallipoli, where Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will take part before travelling to Rome for Pope Francis’ funeral the following day.

The Gallipoli services come on the 110th anniversary of the New Zealand and Australian troops landing on the beaches of the Turkish peninsula in a disastrous nine-month campaign that quickly turned to trench warfare and cost 130,000 lives - 2779 of them Kiwis.

April 25 was subsequently chosen as the annual day to commemorate all fallen servicemen and women across New Zealand and Australia.