Remembering Gallipoli, 95 years on
It was a military disaster and yet became a symbol of Australia's national identity.
Ninety-five years on, the World War I landing of Australian and New Zealand troops on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey still stands as a defining moment in Australia's history.
At dawn on April 25, 1915, thousands of Allied troops landed near Ari Burnu (now known as Anzac Cove).
They dug in against the Turkish counter-attacks but made little progress. Over the next seven and a half months more than 8,000 Australians and 2,500 New Zealanders died in the fighting.
In total the Allies lost more than 46,000 soldiers while around 86,000 Turks were killed during the Gallipoli campaign.
Having failed to achieve their objectives, Allied troops eventually withdrew in December 1915.
Despite the defeat, the campaign came to represent a victory for a young nation.
"In the end it was a military failure but what we do observe is the capacity for our men to stand up with the rest of the world, to perform with courage and bravery," Australian War Memorial senior historian Peter Burness says.
"We found that we could stand beside the regular troops of the British army and we felt we had proven something.
"We emerged from that event with a great deal of self-confidence and pride in ourselves."
This first test of nationhood on an international stage holds a place in Australian hearts.
"It's come to mean a lot of different things to different people," Mr Burness said.
"It not only exists and lives in our history, it still has a very strong place within families.
"With the increasing interest in family histories for example we find people very proud to find that they had an ancestor who was on Gallipoli or perhaps served in the First World War generally."
Mr Burness says Anzac Day is increasingly Australia's de facto national day.
"I remember when people were saying it would decrease in importance but all the evidence is that it's becoming more and more important as we look back at our history and sort of rediscover some of those values of courage and self-sacrifice that are important to us," he said.
Changing audience
Undeterred by heavy rain overnight, thousands of people turned out to attend the dawn service at Canberra's War Memorial.
The national commemoration ceremony and veteran's march will follow mid-morning.
Mr Burness has been working at the War Memorial for 37 years and has seen the commemorations evolve.
"All indications are it's becoming perhaps even more solemn. I well remember when we used to have the dawn service at the War Memorial in the cloisters inside it was so small," he said.
"Now the dawn service - which is a very solemn event - is as big as the main march during the day time."
Mr Burness expects Anzac Day will retain its significance.
"I can remember in the 70s having meetings and conferences and we were discussing, where will the memorial be in the year 2000, will it still be relevant?" he said.
"It's interesting that I'm still here and its relevance is as great as ever.
"I don't think we were as optimistic as we could have afforded to be."
Each year more young Australians are among the Anzac Day crowds, showing an increasing interest in the history.
"Veterans today are no longer a very significant part of our audience at all," Mr Burness said.
"It's the general public and younger people. To see that they're carrying on the tradition only fills you with confidence for the future.
"In Australia's modern history, the great events that took place were the world wars and if you had someone in your family play some role in that then you're part of Australia's big story.
"Australians have become very proud to make those connections."
