Veterans and their supporters, school children, parents and grandparents, young and old gathered at the war memorial in Blackheath this morning to commemorate Anzac Day at the dawn service.
As the sun rested behind low clouds, the gathering was silent as the Ode was recited and the Last Post played.
Students from the Mountains Christian College delivered a moving speech, recalling the day on April 24, 1918, when Australian troops took the village of Villers-Brettoneux in northern France from the Germans.
It was fresh but not as brisk as some Anzac Day mornings of the past but the prospect of a hot breakfast at the Ivanhoe Hotel seemed to spur a large group towards the pub.
There will be another service at Blackheath at 11am, preceded by a ceremony at Mt Victoria at 9am.
