Auckland Anzac Dawn Service

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Today has been a bit of a history lesson... Anzac - meaning Australia and New Zealand (we'd tend to use the phrase antipodeans in the northern hemisphere). The day is a remembrance day for all fallen soldiers in wars. It's 'celebrated' in a similar way to that of 11th November and Remembrance Day in the UK; services and parades are held all across the country. The services are held at dawn to mark the timing of the landing of the Anzacs at Gallipoli in Turkey during WWI. So yup it was up at 5.30am and to the Domain and the Cenotaph in central Auckland this morning ready for the 6am start. It was a lovely service and very intimate with not a barrier in sight, lots of children, families, service men and women and 'younger generations', and finished with the invitation for everyone to lay their poppies on the memorial. The sunrise was spectacular and was a very dramatic backdrop...

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