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Thousands of Australians gathered in the pre-dawn gloom at Gallipoli today to mark 92 years since the ill-fated landing of troops at Anzac Cove.
In the hours before today's dawn service, crowds had gathered on the slopes around the Anzac Cove ceremonial area to watch documentaries about the battlefield which gave birth to the Anzac legend. Then, with dawn approaching, flags flew at half mast as ceremonial parties marched into the area where this morning's solemn service was conducted.  Vice Chief of the Australian Defence Force, Lieutenant General Ken Gillespie, read the words of Australia's official historian at Gallipoli, Charles Bean, to help recreate the fateful day.
"Under the sky it could be seen definitely for the first time since the set of the moon the dark shape of land," he read. "Every brain in the boat was throbbing with intense anxiety of the moment ... The suspense was almost unbearable." "They were men who their countries could ill afford to lose." New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters painted a moving picture of the Anzac campaign, and urged a commitment to peace. The Anzacs, who believed they were training for deployment in France, were pitched into an-ill conceived campaign against Turkey for which few of them were prepared, he said. "They were to learn that courage and natural ability could not compensate for failures in planning, leadership and logistics," he said in remarks broadcast live in Australia. "Under constant fire from the start, many troops were hit before even making it to shore. "The survivors found themselves pinned down on the cruelly exposed beach, which was soon strewn with wounded and dead." Mr Peters urged the thousands gathered in the morning dark to remember the hardships and deprivations the soldiers endured during the eight-month campaign on the Gallipoli peninsula, from food shortages to snipers, disease and the constant barrage of artillery. "The human cost of the campaign was enormous, with over half a million casualties including 130,000 dead," he said. "In remembering the suffering and loss on both sides, let us commit ourselves to working for a world where differences between nations can be resolved without resorting to war. "That is the way that we can best honour the men who fought and died here." Turkish military officers read a quotation in Turkish and English taken from a speech made in 1934 by the first president of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Ataturk had led and inspired the Turkish forces at Gallipoli. "Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives, you are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. "There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets where they lie side by side here in this country of ours. "You the mothers who sent their sons from far away countries, wipe away your tears. "Your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. "Having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well." The quotation is inscribed on a memorial named after Ataturk on the Gallipoli peninsula, which was opened in 1985 to mark the 70th anniversary of the Gallipoli landings. Australian Defence Minister Brendan Nelson told the service that the Anzac spirit could shine a light into the dark corners of the world. Dr Nelson spoke of an "awkward humility" among Australian present at the ceremony in honouring the legacy and values forged by fallen soldiers. "The sun will soon pierce the night sky," he said. "Let us as Australians shine that light into dark corners of the world as an outward-looking, compassionate and confident people imbued with the Anzac spirit of endurance, courage and selfless determination to help others." The minister paid tribute to Australians who died in wars for setting an example for generations to follow. "The bedrock for our most fragile yet powerful of beliefs - hopeful confidence in the future - is this gift given us by generations of servicemen and women. "Precious Australians, who lie here and in distant places of the world, do so as silent witnesses to the future that they have given us. "We honour them by the way that we use our lives and shape our nation." Dr Nelson called on Australians to recommit themselves to Anzac values. "They forged values that are ours and make us who we are, reminding us that there are some truths by which we live and that are worth defending. "Let us recommit ourselves to that to which Gallipoli asks of every Australian whether by birth or immigration that our Australia - their Australia - is a nation in which our values are etched less in granite and marble than they are in our flag, a slouch hat, the army rising sun and a smile that says 'G'day mate, can I give you a hand?' "We salute principles before position and we honour values, not value." During his speech, Dr Nelson read several epitaphs from the gravestones of Australian soldiers. "Family epitaphs to the dead in so few words say so much of love, of life, loss and us. "With awkward humility we pause here at Gallipoli, free and confident heirs to the legacy borne of idealism and forged in self-sacrifice." The Royal Australian Air Force's principal air chaplain, Stephen de Plater, said a prayer for peace. In a solemn ceremony, Mr Peters and Dr Nelson laid wreaths at the base of flags from Australia, New Zealand and Turkey, all flying low. Dignitaries from Turkey, Britain, France, Canada, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Ireland all laid their own wreaths, followed by army and veterans representatives. New Zealand navy chief Rear Admiral David Ian Ledson read the Anzac Ode, before the Last Post sounded as the sun rose, and a two-minute silence remembered all those who died in war. The congregation remained on its feet for the national anthems of Turkey, New Zealand and Australia. The Anzac Cove dawn service ended with the departure of the catafalque party, watched by thousands of Australians, many swathed in Australian flags and wearing gold beanies. Following the end of the Anzac Cove service, dignitaries and onlookers made their way up the hill to the former battlefield and cemetery at Lone Pine, where another service was to be held. AAP |
