Sydney's Anzac Day march through the CBD was back on this year.
Here are the best photos from NCA NewsWire photographer Bianca de Marchi.
Anzac Day 2021: 100-year-old veteran's Sydney march goal
World War Two veteran, 100-year-old John Wilkinson, ticked off a bucket list item when he took part in Sydney's Anzac Day march this morning.
Sydney's Anzac Day march has taken place in the CBD, two years after veterans and their families last took part in the tradition.
Among those marching is 100-year-old WWII veteran John Wilkinson who was able to tick off a bucket list item with his son and daughter by his side. You can read more of his story in our blog below.
The march follows a morning of dawn services across the state including at Martin Place where 1,200 people gathered at the Sydney Cenotaph to honour those who have served the country.
Updates
Photos: The best shots from the Sydney march
COVID made 96-year-old vet determined to march
Dorothy Curtis turned 18 not long after Japanese submarines snuck into Sydney Harbour in 1942.Almost immediately she decided to enlist in the army.
But Mrs Curtis’s time in the ADF ended after three years when she met Heath Curtis, married and soon enough welcomed the first of their five children.
Joined at Sunday’s Anzac Day march by her son Paul the incredibly sharp Mrs Curtis, now 96, recalls working day and night to help plot the ships moving in the waters around Sydney.
“We plotted the course of shipping around Sydney and had to report every ship to headquarters, every day and every night,” Mrs Curtis said.
“It was our duty to make sure the coast was clear, except for our ships.
“I was 18 after they got into Sydney Harbour and you have to be 18 to get into the army, so I signed up and then I got out when I was 21.
“I was at North Head and I met Heath there and after, gee it wasn’t very long, about six months – and we didn’t see each other much in that six months either actually – we got married.
“And there you are. We would’ve been married 75 years this year but we’ve got five children, 13 grand children and 27 great-grandchildren.”
After last year’s march was cancelled, Mrs Curtis was determined to take part in 2021.
Smiling as she told of the warm reception she receives from those in the crowd, Mrs Curtis said she believes it is important for younger generations to acknowledge the sacrifices their predecessors have made – among them her late-husband who spent time in Darwin, which was heavily bombed during WWII.
“I think it’s lovely, it’s a thank you for us and a chance for the young people to realise their parents and grandparents served to help save our country,” Mrs Curtis said.
“Because if we hadn’t of had an army, air force and navy, they would have made more of a mess like they did up in Darwin all the way deep down into the country.”
– Josh Hanrahan
100-year-old WWII veteran marches in Sydney's CBD
Just three weeks ago, WWII veteran John Wilkinson celebrated his 100th birthday.
When the celebrations finally concluded, his next goal was a simple one – to march on Anzac Day.
On Sunday he did just that, walking on his own two feet with his son and daughter by his side, and three generations of relatives cheering him on.
Mr Wilkinson spent five years in the infantry in New Guinea during WWII, a time that is hard to forget.
“I remember quite a lot of it,” he said.
“I was in a native unit (alongside New Guinean soldiers) and there were only three native units.
“We were given some quite interesting jobs because they were barefooted, quiet and knew the jungle so well, that the Australian troops were pleased to let us go and do the dirty work for them.
‘Mainly, that was, attacking villages that were occupied by the Japanese.
“I was over there for five years but the actual shooting part was only two-and-a-half years.”
Last year, like so many other Australians, Mr Wilkinson stood at the end of his driveway in western NSW on Anzac Day to remember.
Returning to the march for the first time in two years, he is now the only surviving member of his unit.
His daughter Susie Rowe said she is confident he’ll be back again in 2022.
“I would say he’ll be here next year too, that will be his next item on his bucket list,” Ms Rowe said.
“I think dad has been very moved over the years by how many people have been in the crowds, and so it means a lot to him.
“Dad’s goal now is to get to Christmas and then it’ll be Anzac Day next year, still marching.”
– Josh Hanrahan
Kiwi-Aussie ties still strong
The strong ties between Australian and New Zealand forces that were forged at Gallipoli were on show on Sunday morning, with a large kiwi contingent among the crowd at the Martin Place Dawn service.
With the New Zealand flag draped over his shoulders, Connor Thorsen stood proudly next to his father Lieutenant Colonel Dave Thorsen of the New Zealand Defence Force during the service.
Originally from across the Tasman, the Thorsen family have been in Australia for the past three years while Lt Col has been on a posting to Hyde Park Barracks.
New Zealand Defence Force Lt Col Dave Thorsen and his family Liam, wife Kim, Emilee and Connor. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Bianca De Marchi
An experienced soldier who has served overseas in Afghanistan and Timor, he said while the relationship between the two nations dates back more than a century ago it remains just as important today as it did back then.
"It's a critical relationship our two countries have, starting back when it did and having served side-by-side in so many places," Lt Col Thorsen said.
"Obviously at WWII and Korea, and since then Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq, we've just been so closely intertwined."
When asked what he was thinking of as the lights over Martin Place dimmed for the minute's silence, Connor pointed to his dad.
"I think of where he's been, and also my grandfathers thought in WWII – just the small things I guess," the 14-year-old said.
The service also included a rendition of the New Zealand national anthem from the Sydney Maori Choir.
The neighbouring nation sent more than 100,000 troops and medical staff to WWI and around 15,000 to fight at Gallipoli, with 2779 of those dying on the battlefield.
– Josh Hanrahan
Bush services take place across NSW
In near total darkness on the banks of the Macquarie River at Warren, more than 150 gathered for an Anzac Day service, in a bush ceremony mirrored in thousands of other tiny towns across the country.
Those at the service included Neil ‘Barney’ Simpson and mate Dale ‘Harry’ Harris, two Warren boys who were Vietnam veterans by the age of 20.
Vietnam veterans, (left) Dale Harris, 72, and Neil "Barney" Simpson, 72, in Warren. Picture: David Swift
Mr Simpson was just 19 when, on October 4 1967, he was called up for a year of national service.
Working as a dog handler, he and his canine comrade were tasked with sniffing out booby traps, tunnels, and enemy soldiers.
“When we found them, that’s when we’d send the boys in,” Mr Simpson said.
His childhood friend Mr Harris joined the Navy and by 19 was on his first trip to Vietnam, alongside Mr Simpson on the HMAS Sydney – the massive troop carrier which shipped troops and supplies from Australia to Vietnam and termed the ‘Vung Tau Ferry’ by those on board.
Dawn service at Warren in western NSW. Picture: David Swift
Mr Simpson – one of four Warren boys called up for national service in the Vietnam conflict – said the dwindling number of veterans left in the bush made every year’s Anzac Day more special.
“You see it get smaller every year. When we first get out of the army, there was 80 veterans left in Warren,” Mr Simpson told The Telegraph from the Warren Services Club.
“So it means a lot, especially the dawn service. I haven’t missed a Dawn Service in my life.
“The people you serve with, your friends forever … this is a good way of remembering them.”
“My father was a prisoner of war in World War II at Changi, and days like these make you think of the mates you haven’t seen,” Mr Harris added.
– Lachlan Leeming in Warren
Hundreds gather at Coogee Beach
Hundreds of people gathered at Coogee Beach for a Dawn service this morning to commemorate Anzac Day.
In an address to those gathered, Coogee Randwick Clovelly RSL Sub Branch treasurer, Adrian Sutter said the Anzac legend was born on April 25 – and the values of bravery, ingenuity, endurance and mateship still needed to be celebrated.
"In recent times the media, social media, and shifting global political values have seen changes in the public perception of military and Anzac values," he said.
The dawn service at Coogee. Picture: Monique Harmer
"Dawn service numbers have been shrinking, national respect is shifting. Not by those here today, but by many.
"It is days like here today that we must remind ourselves of why the Anzac values mean so much to me and so many service men and women.
"No soldier joins the military to fight for politicians, no soldier joins to fight for generals. We do not choose the war nor the enemy. We choose to serve."
– Christopher Harris
Scott Morrison pays tribute in Canberra
The Prime Minister was at the Dawn Service in Canberra where he paid tribute to veterans and current servicewomen and men.
Scott Morrison will also attend the national ceremony and veterans' banner parade at the Australian War Memorial from 10.30am.
Read more about how Anzac Day is being commemorated across the country.
Scott and Jenny Morrison join a large crowd at the Australian War Memorial. Pictures: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage
106 years since Gallipoli
April 25 marks the 106th anniversary of the 1915 Gallipoli landing.
It was the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War.
The Australian War Memorial in Canberra during today's Dawn Service. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Gary Ramage
RFS Commissioner remembers his grandfather's service
Rural Fire Service Commissioner Paul Baxter's grandfather Albert served in World War I.
At the Martin Place Dawn Service his medals were being worn by six-year-old Theo, who proudly announced "these are my great grandfather's medals, but he didn't die in the war".
Theo Baxter wearing his great-grandfather's medals. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Bianca De Marchi
Commissioner Baxter said despite having never met his grandfather, he and wife Gina have in recent years made an effort to take their son to the Anzac Day Dawn Service to ensure their family's history lives on.
"We're just making this an annual tradition, connecting with our history and keeping it alive," he said.
"It's really important as the battles in all the wars go on, but we're connected right back to World War I which is what today is all about."
The education lesson for young Theo will continue throughout the day, as he and his dad join the march through Sydney's CBD.
– Josh Hanrahan
A very different Anzac Day than 2020
Australians gathered with candles on their driveways to remember the Anzacs in 2020, including William Looker who today read The Ode at the Sydney Cenotaph.
The 12-year-old was meant to read the same tribute at last year's service.
As he told the crowd "we will remember them", William was wearing not just his parents' medals, but also those of his great grandfather who served in WWII.
Army veterans Aron and Pennie Looker with their children Thomas, Claudia and William. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Bianca De Marchi
His mum said she believes it is crucial to keep younger generations aware of the history of the Anzacs.
"It's extremely important, because we need to be grateful for the freedoms we have today," Mrs Looker said.
"And we need to make sure our children understand what was given up so that we can live the lives we live now.
"I think for my kids as well, living through my husband and my deployments, they have a better understanding of what it's like for parents to go away."
– Josh Hanrahan
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