Attendance soars at Anzac Day service in Gallipoli with biggest crowds in a decade

This year marked 110 years since the doomed World War I landings which led to the death of more than 10,000 Australians and New Zealanders.

As morning broke over the Gallipoli Peninsula, a haunting karanga opened the Dawn Service which was attended by Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Chief of Defence Force Air Marshal Tony Davies, among other dignitaries.

A reading was delivered by Her Royal Highness, and commemorative addresses given by Prime Minister Luxon and the Australian Governor General Sam Mostyn.

Later in the morning, more than 700 people attended a service that was held at the New Zealand memorial at Chunuk Bair.

New Zealand Defence Force person of the year for 2024 Petty Officer Joe Mataele shared the story of brothers Don and James Ferris during his address. Don was killed while firing his gun at Chunuk Bair on 8 August 1915.

Petty Officer Mataele shared from the letters of his grieving brother.

“I saw the whole thing… Don let them have it for all he was worth. Then the gun was silent and he rolled over dead... The shock dazed me…. Later, we charged across an open stretch of country… I was crying my heart out all the way.

Chief of Defence Force Air Marshal Tony Davies said he was humbled to return to Gallipoli to attend the commemoration.

During his address, he shared the story of Lieutenant-Colonel William Malone, a battalion commander who was responsible for the lives of more than a thousand men during the battle of Chunuk Bair.

“At about 5pm on the 8^th of August, Malone was killed by shrapnel from an artillery shell. A few hours later the Wellington Battalion withdrew having suffered unbearable casualties. William Malone has no known grave and, alongside those of more than 300 of his men, his name is recorded on the New Zealand Memorial to the Missing.”

The NZDF Māori Cultural Element and members of the NZ Army band performed waiata throughout the service, which was presided over by NZDF Chaplain Class I Dave Lacey.

The service concluded with a rousing and powerful haka performed by members of the NZDF contingent.