We must not forget them.
That was the sentiment echoed across the nation as officers and their families gathered for Police Remembrance Day.
No police officers have died in the line of duty in Australia in the past 12 months.
Those honoured on Tuesday ncluded five from Papua New Guinea who have died this year and the hundreds of others in Australia who have died in previous years.
Officers who have died of illness and other causes were also remembered, with their children coming forward to lay wreaths.
In Brisbane the parents of two young policewomen were given framed portraits of their daughters.
Constable Sally Urquhart was killed in a plane crash in 2005 and Constable Sondra Lena died in 1992 when she was struck by a car near Rockhampton.
Sally's father Shane thanked the Queensland Police Service for its continuing support.
"You lose a child - even though she was 28 - it's still a child," he said.
"Unless you've been through it yourself, you can't really understand what it's like."
Since the mid-1800s, Queensland has lost 140 officers, Victoria 159 and NSW 252.
NSW Police gathered at Sydney's Domain for prayer, wreath laying, music and speeches.
Premier Mike Baird said it was remarkable that someone would lay down their life for a friend but even more remarkable that they might do so for a stranger.
NSW Governor David Hurley said police were people who saw beyond themselves and preferred to give back to society rather than take.
Queensland Police Minister Jo-Ann Miller urged people in her state to go up to a police officer on duty and thank them for doing a tough job.
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