On the 25th April 2009

ANZAC Day – 25 April – is probably Australia's most important national occasion. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces It was during the First World War.

War broke out in 1914 There were over 8,000 Australian soldiers that died. News of the landing at Gallipoli made a profound impact on Australians at home and the date 25 April ,quickly became the day on which Australians remembered the sacrifice of those who had died in war.

This was the beginning of what became known as the "ANZAC " became an important part of the national identity of both nations being Australia and New Zealand . The date, 25 April, was officially named ANZAC Day in 1916 and was marked by a wide variety of ceremonies and services in Australia, . By the mid-1930s all the rituals we today associate with the day – dawn vigils, marches, memorial services, reunions, two-up games – were firmly established as part of ANZAC Day events.

With the coming of the Second World War, ANZAC Day was used to also commemorate the lives of Australians lost in that war too. In all the years since the meaning of the day has been further broadened to include Australians killed in all the military operations in which Australia has been involved. Lest We Forget