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Image slideshow: Click the arrows to scroll through the photos of Anzac services.
Residents of the Hibiscus Coast and Mahurangi gathered in their thousands at Anzac services across the district today to mark the 100th anniversary of the first landings at Gallipoli.
Veterans as well as serving defence force personal were honoured as they marched to cenotaphs from Silverdale to Maungaturoto.
Tributes were paid to the sacrifices made by New Zealanders in many theatres of war over the past century.
In Warkworth, RSA president John Stephen captured the atmosphere of the morning when he encouraged New Zealanders today to dedicate themselves to the service of the ideals for which the Gallipoli soldiers fought and died.
Guest speaker Lieutenant Colonel (retired) Geoffrey Bowes reminded the crowd that World War I claimed the lives of 18,000 New Zealanders.
“NZ’s identity as a nation in its own right was born at Gallipoli through shared adversity,” he said.
“It is important to ensure that with the passage of time, the names inscribed on cenotaphs around NZ are not forgotten.
“They are and will always be the sons and daughters of New Zealand.”
Other speakers at the Warkworth Civic Ceremony included Turkish representative Rodi Sarihan who read from Kemal Ataturk’s words which are engraved at Anzac Cove, and Mahurangi College head prefects Daniel Vaughan and Ella Hauser.
Ella paid a moving tribute to her great grandfather Fred Haughton who fought in World War I and her grandfather Ronald Hauser, a veteran of WWII, who passed away just two months ago.
Both the NZ and Australian national anthems were played at many services reflecting the Anzac spirit.
