Crowds pay tribute at Anzac Day services despite terror fears

Security is stronger than ever before at Anzac Day services across Australia and overseas, with a high threat of terrorism a stark reminder that war still rages across the world.

While there are no readily available details of a specific terror threat, those attending dawn services and marches around the country have been asked to remain vigilant.

The nebulous warnings follow a number of vehicle-driven terror attacks around the world in the past year.

"I think vigilance tomorrow will be the buzz word for the day," Superintendent Mark Reid of Queensland Police said on the eve of Australia's Anzac commemorations.

But the fear and threats have not stood in the way of tens of thousands of people gathering to pay tribute to our fallen Anzacs.

Australians young and old arrived in the darkness before the rising of the sun to pay homage to the nation's heroes past and present.

More than 15,000 gathered at Elephant Rock at Currumbin on the Gold Coast to pay respects to the overwhelming number of recently passed veterans at Queensland's Currumbin RSL.

The warm dawn sun rose above the Pacific Ocean to bath the crowds gathered in solemn thanks and reflection for the service men and women of past and present.

The club's president Ron Workman stood before the crowd to sadly announce the RSL on the Gold Coast had experienced the largest loss of veterans in the past year.

"It is with sadness that I convey to all that since last Anzac Day Currumbin RSL has experienced the largest loss of its veterans in history," Mr Workman said.

"Veterans who have served their country in times of conflict in foreign lands.

"And as a result of their efforts, it has been said, we certainly live in the lucky country."

Former Australian prime minister, Tony Abbott, was among the crowd.

Tuesday's commemoration honoured service men and women of past and present, with a company of 12 light horsemen leading veterans into the service.

The horsemen remained mounted throughout, their presence marking the centenary of Australia's successful cavalry charge in the World War I Battle of Beersheba.

Daniel Farrell was part of Tuesday's light horesmen, his replica WWI uniform bearing the medals his great-uncle John David Ryan earned while serving with the 11th Light Horse from 1915-19.

"He was over there for four and a half years in Israel, Palestine and Gallipoli so it's an honour to be here today for him really," Mr Farrell told AAP.

The service also included a fly over involving a Vietnam-era Iroquois helicopter and the now-traditional burial at sea ceremony where local surfboat crews scattered the ashes of 34 veterans and their family members on the waves.

Small numbers of Australians and New Zealanders have begun to arrive at Anzac Cove in Turkey amid heightened threats of terror.

Aussies and Kiwis young and old on the annual Anzac pilgrimage have been making their way through heavy security checkpoints 102 years after the landing at Gallipoli.

Bird calls and drum rolls welcome Anzac Day in Brisbane.

Families, veterans and other locals gathered in a darkened Anzac Square to commemorate the occasion, with the solemn service beginning at 4.28am.

Thousands stood silently at the Shrine of Remembrance as the muffled sound of drummers moving up Adelaide Street mixed with waking wildlife.

Among them was Nate Fealy, of Albany Creek, who spent 15 years in the military including stints in Afghanistan, Timor and Papua New Guinea before departing as a corporal in 2009.

The stoic 39-year-old said attending the dawn service wasn't immediately emotional - but it was a way to reconnect with past comrades.

"It comes later on during the day sometimes," he said, medals displayed proudly on his chest.

"Today is just all about being here for the rest of your mates."

Sydneysiders gather at Martin Place, rain hampers Melbourne service

The heart of Sydney stood still at dawn as thousands commemorated Anzac Day at Martin Place, more than a century after Australia's soldiers landed on Gallipoli's shores.

The services mark disastrous landings on the dawn of April 25, 1915, Australia's first major conflict of World War I, and honoured armed forces past and present for their service.

Close to 20,000 people packed the length of Martin Place on the 90th anniversary of Sydney's first dawn service.

A sea of umbrellas has surrounded the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne as thousands gathered in the rain for the Anzac Day dawn service.

The event is expected to bring 100,000 people and roads around the Shrine have been closed off as police ramp up security at public events.

In Sydney, Commander of the Australian Fleet, Rear Admiral Stuart Mayer, gave the Anzac address noting that Australia has lost 102,825 men in war since 1861.

"This morning we don't boast about triumphs or victories," he said.

"We remember the sacrifice of those who were prepared to stand up for someone else, for people that believed that there was something bigger, more important than just their own interests and were prepared to put others ahead of themselves and put their lives at risk of because of those beliefs."

He said the dawn service ceremony was a commitment to always remember those who gave their lives in war.

"It is a promise that adds to the dignity of our nation and that the nation's people would annually recommit to the promise to remember those who have stood in harm's way."

The rain did not deter thousands from remembering veterans at the Canberra service.

McGrath's moving memories of Afghanistan

Former sapper-turned-Paralympian gold medallist Curtis McGrath, who lost both his legs while serving in Afghanistan, delivered the commemorative address.

"On this Anzac Day, we look back on a century of courage, endurance, mateship and sacrifice," he told the crowd.

"We honour those who have died and suffered through the old and the new wars."

He recounted how he came to be wounded while clearing IEDs on August 23, 2012.

"In a violent, hot explosion, the ground beneath me erupted, taking both my legs instantly," he said.

"Somehow, in a state of bewilderment and physical wreckage, bizarre moments of clarity and focus took hold.

"I found myself trying to do my own first aid and instructing the men and how to administer the morphine.

"Meanwhile, my mates wrestled with tourniquets on what was left of my legs as they swallowed their own terror and tears."

He said joined the army through a sense of duty, and called on Australia to take care of those who return from conflicts.

"May we, as a nation, continue to provide those men and women who have served us with the care they need."

In Auckland and Wellington thousands turned out as the first of the dawn services get under way across New Zealand and Australia to commemorate Anzac Day and the Gallipoli landing 102 years ago.

Around 5000 New Zealanders are at the Auckland War Memorial Museum and another 2000 at Wellington for the services.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce will represent the government at the national service in Canberra, while Foreign Minister Julie Bishop will represent Australia at commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey.

Governor-General Peter Cosgrove and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will mark the 75th anniversary of the Papua New Guinea campaign at services at Bomana Cemetery, Isurava Memorial and Kokoda.

In his Anzac Day address, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said it was not an occasion to glorify war but to remember and honour the high cost of the country's freedom and liberty - a price paid in young lives lost far from home.

He said the best way to honour the Anzacs of a century ago was to support the servicemen and women of today as well as veterans and their families.