Old soldiers to young children wearing their grandfathers' medals come in their thousands to honour the dead at Anzac Day services.
Wellington RSA president Ron Turner commended the crowds for forsaking a warm bed at home.
"It is fitting that we should keep this dawn vigil together, in gratitude for the fallen. We wish to be worthy of their great sacrifice."
Five thousand people gathered before dawn to pay respects at the Anzac Day service at the Wellington Cenotaph.
Booming cannon fire and rifle volleys rang out as young and old sang hymns lamenting the men and women who never returned from New Zealand's wars.
Prime Minister John Key, there along with Wellington mayor Celia Wade-Brown and top military brass, laid a wreath at the memorial.
"We have risen from our beds early to give thanks for those who gave their lives for the cost of peace," reverend Lionel Nunns told the crowd.
Many children and teenagers proudly wore the medals of their grandfathers and great-grandfathers.
Island Bay's Allen family got to the cenotaph before 5am to secure a prime viewing spot. Mother Vivienne and her children have come to the service every year for 14 years, and came well prepared, bundled up in puffer jackets and with a blanket to sit on before the service began.
Daughter Sammy Allen, 18, said she came every year to pay tribute to her grandfather, great grandfather and great-great grandfather, all of whom served overseas.
The speech and language therapy student loved the wreath laying but disliked the gun volley.
"It's so loud."
The rifles were the best part of the service for her brother Nick, 10, who was not sure if he would continue the family's military service.
Tawa family the Koenigsbergers were at the dawn service for the first time, bringing along sons Harry, 6, and Xavier, 8.
"We've come for the kids, for them to see what goes on, to see what happened in the past," dad Chris said.
The boys were learning about Gallipoli at Redwood School and were keen to learn more, mum Alecia said.
Xavier said he wanted to honour the soldiers who died.
JACKSON HELPS RE-CREATE PAST UNIFORMS
Sir Peter Jackson joined diginitaries at the front of the crowd, in prime position to see the 35 historical military uniforms he helped re-create.
Current reserve soldiers from the Wellington company, 57th battalion, wore khaki dress uniforms in the parade.
Each was different and represented a regiment that served in the First World War. Two women soldiers wore the uniforms of nurses who assisted in battle.
Soldiers had spent days training to do historical drills, using much larger .303 rifles than the modern guns used today, Jackson said. An old bandsman who trained in the 1950s had been running soldiers through the moves, he said.
"The Defence Force have been enthusiastic about trying something different this year," he said.
"The soldiers got into it, wearing the kit of their forebears."
More uniforms would be created for the Gallipoli centenary celebrations next year, Jackson said.
Napier's memorial square filled with the sounds of soft chatter as hundreds turned out for the dawn parade.
Tiwana Aranui had tears in his eyes as he spoke about serving in Malaysia in the seventies. It was poignant day for him remembering his comrades.
He would spend the rest of the day on the phone catching up with those he served alongside.
Longden Leulele had been bringing his children to the Napier service for the past seven years to honour the Samoans that lost their lives in battle.
The chatter stopped as young cadets and war veterans marched side by side. The birds sung in the trees above as the public prayed for those who fell on the battlefield.
A piper played as the sky lightened bringing in the 99th year year since troops landed at Gallipoli.
As the parade marched off children laid poppies on the cenotaph as their grandfathers watched.
In Rotorua, several thousand turned up to honour the war dead at a dawn service in Ohinemutu.
Crowds of people, young and old, descended on Hamilton's Memorial Park for this morning's service.
The crowd appeared larger than in previous years despite a forecast of thunderstorms.
The rain held off with only thick fog left hovering the streets as people walked in silence to the park, to greet the dawn march which began in the city's CBD to the park.
However, by the time of the service's end, the fog broke revealing blue sky.
In Auckland, tens of thousands of people lined the Auckland War Memorial Museum.
Bagpipes pierced the solemn silence to start proceedings just after 5.30am.
The City of Auckland pipe band played as dignitaries, veterans and current soldiers filed into the court of honour in front of the cenotaph.
Three riders on horseback led the start of the ceremony, acknowledging the horses who died during war.
Crowds covered all ages.
Balvant Dullabh said his eight-year-old daughter Rheya got him out of bed at 4am to attend the dawn service for the first time.
"She's really wanted to go," he said.
"I've never been, I've seen it on TV many times but being here is pretty emotional."
Rain clouds that had recently become so familiar to Cantabrians remained at bay as people gathered in Cranmer Square for Christchurch's dawn service.
Aside from a light breeze the weather was fine and mild.
Elderly people stood clutching poppies, couples grasped each other for warmth despite the mild temperature and bleary-eyed children were flanked by their parents as the day's first light crept into the sky.
The service, which began at 6.15am, would involve Christchurch mayor Lianne Dalziel laying a wreath on behalf of the city's citizens.
Services around the world this year would commemorate 100 years since the start of World War I.
Traditionally the Christchurch service was held in Cathedral Square, but safety concerns meant the size of the crowd there would be limited.
The RSA instead decided to hold the service in Cranmer Square, where it was also held last year, as there was unlimited access.
Despite the rain, hundreds of people gathered in Invercargill this morning for Anzac Day.
The service officially started at 7am and reflected the majority of services throughout Southland and Southern Lakes District that have later starts.
The earliest services included a dawn parade service in Gore that started at 6.30am and Queenstown which started at 6.45am.
Source: Stuff.co.nz
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