Welcome to Gallipoli 2015 commemorations

Crowds participating in the Anzac Day Dawn Service at the Anzac Commemorative Site, Gallipoli.

On 25 April 2015 we will commemorate the centenary of the ANZAC landings on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey.  What followed in 1915 was a bitter eight-month campaign that helped to forge our young nation.  The men who served on the Gallipoli Peninsula created a legend, adding the word ‘Anzac’ to our vocabulary and creating the notion of the Anzac spirit, the ideals of courage, endurance and mateship.

Gallipoli has special significance to many Australians.  For the families of those men who fought at Gallipoli, and in the many other battles and campaigns of the First World War, the upcoming centenary commemorations are particularly poignant and there is already considerable public interest in attending the centenary services. 

Australia and New Zealand conduct three commemorative services at Gallipoli on Anzac Day each year.  The Dawn Service at the Anzac Commemorative Site is jointly conducted by both countries and is followed by an Australian Memorial Service at Lone Pine, and a New Zealand Memorial Service at Chunuk Bair.  As the Anzac Commemorative Site has a limited capacity, anticipated demand to attend represents a challenge to ensuring a secure, safe and comfortable visitor experience, while maintaining the dignity and solemnity of the centenary commemorations.