It began with the rumbling of a didgeridoo and ended with the roar of fighter pilots.
With silence and with applause, with voices raised in song and ears marking the stomp of boots, the crowd gathered in Canberra paid their respects to those who have served this nation.
More than 31,000 attended the Anzac Day national service at the Australian War Memorial, breaking the 2014 record crowd numbers by some 6000 people.
Among them was Barbra Graeme from Dubbo, who wore the medals her grandfather won fighting at Gallipoli.
She had entered the ballot to attend the centenary service at Anzac Cove but, having missed out, decided the dawn and national services in Canberra were the next best thing.
War memorial director Brendan Nelson said there had been a "palpable determination" among Australians to attend Saturday's commemorations.
Governor-General Peter Cosgrove told the crowd Anzac Day was not about "war writ large" but the people who were mourned and venerated.
"What those marvellous, stoic men and women in uniform did was to reveal such of our national characters as to place an eternal obligation on Australia and New Zealand to always look beyond our shores and place ourselves at the side of those in need, whatever the cost," he said in his commemorative address.
"The spirit of Anzac lies in us all."
Australian and foreign dignitaries looked on as more than 2000 people marched along Anzac Parade in front of the Australian War Memorial, led by the traditional riderless horse.
Representatives from international contingents joined the march, including a large group from Turkey, along with veterans groups, serving personnel, cadets, emergency services and the Red Cross.
The crowd's largest cheer was reserved for the Vietnam veterans.
Veteran David Hede, from Brisbane, said it was great to see younger people in particular learning about Australia's wars.
Much had been learnt about how to treat service personnel since those returning from Vietnam, like him, were shunned.
He believed it was appropriate the focus be on WWI at the centenary of Gallipoli.
"It's important, I think, in Australia's history that we should remember the events - not only Gallipoli, but all the people who went to war," he told AAP.
Police stopped a group of indigenous protesters from joining the end of the parade.
Waving flags, beating sticks and chanting "shame", the group of about 50 had wanted to march unofficially to recognise indigenous people killed in the frontier wars when Europeans settled Australia.
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