Defence Force veterans and personnel across the nation have marched to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli landings, after record crowds attended dawn services around the country.

Thousands lined Anzac parades in Canberra, Brisbane and Sydney, while Melbourne braved wet weather to pay tribute.

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A crowd of 120,000 people gathered at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra earlier today, where there was standing room only.

Lieutenant General David Morrison said the sacrifice of the Anzac troops “makes us who we are and reminds us, in the face of an unknown future, who we can be”.

“Like us, they were men and women of their time… like us, they dreamed of something better,” he said.

“They loved and were loved in return, were prepared to fight for their beliefs, were, like us, prey to fears and human despair.

“It makes their sacrifice and their capacity to endure real, despite the passage of time.”

A crowd of 85,000 flocked to Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance to pay their respects to Australia’s war dead, while up to 30,000 people attended the main Sydney dawn service in Martin Place.

NSW Governor and former Defence chief David Hurley told the Sydney gathering the Anzac legacy was “evident throughout Australia’s post-World War I history in the way that we have approached the many challenges that have faced us”.

“Our challenge now is to maintain the relevance of the Anzac legacy and to build upon it,” he said.

People in Adelaide turned out in frosty conditions to pay tribute to the fallen, while thousands more attended services in Brisbane, Perth, Hobart and Launceston.

A large crowd gathered in Darwin, a city which more than 2,000 serving army, air force and navy personnel call home.

On the Gallipoli peninsula, an estimated 10,000 people assembled at Anzac Cove for the dawn service to mark 100 years since the first Australian and New Zealand troops splashed ashore into a hail of murderous Turkish fire.

A ring of security has been thrown around the site, with pilgrims having to pass through six security checkpoints to reach the site of the service.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott arrived at Anzac Cove yesterday afternoon, joining New Zealand premier John Key and the heir to the British throne Prince Charles and his son Prince Harry for a ceremony.

Dawn service in Canberra. Photo: AAP

Mr Abbott described the Gallipoli campaign as “a glorious defeat”.

“Our friendship proves that when the battle is over, when the wounds have healed and when the ground has cooled, warriors can see their enemies’ virtue,” he said at a conference in Istanbul ahead of the ceremonies.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he believed the “message of peace” delivered from there was important, adding that: “The world needs this message more than ever.”

“I repeat once more on behalf of all – before the memory of hundreds of thousands of young men lying in this small peninsula – our determination to work to let peace and prosperity prevail in the world,” he told the ceremony.

Speaking from the Wellington dawn service, Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove said the bonds created between Australia and New Zealand at Gallipoli were “built on trust, and respect of a shared experience”.

“That bond continues to bind our nations together, forever, in a way that nothing else can,” he said.

“That’s the Anzac legacy, and it’s what those people did and what they gave us that we commemorate today.”

ABC/AFP