April 25, 1915

ANZAC Cove, a kilometer strip of beach on a remote and distant shore, became the very ground where nations were to spill their blood and a spirit of mateship we covert today was born. After dark on April 24, 1915 Australian and New Zealand army corps (ANZACs) were still aboard some 200 ships in the Mediterranean most oblivious to their location due to the top secret nature of the mission. The plan was to land troops at Gaba Tepe, a beach further south with fields that the ANZACs could march over. A fateful error led them to impossibly steep and unpenetratable terrain defended by Turkish troops well equipped with German backing and passionate in the defense of their homeland.

Heavy resistance

At 3.10am on April 25, the assault landing began. The first Australian's landed were some 4,000 men of the 3rd Brigade. The 1st and 2nd Brigades followed – in all a total of 12,000 Australian troops landed that historic day. They encountered heavy resistance and in the first 24 hours some 2,000 men lay dead or dying on the beach and in those desolate hills. So many brave acts, so many lives lost, so many families devastated by these losses. Lasting 240 days and ending in retreat, the toll was staggering. In total, almost 1 million men from many nations had fought at Gallipoli.

On the Allied side, the British death toll was 21,255, the French lost 10,000, Australia counted 8,709 dead and New Zealand lost 2,701 men. The Turkish causalities were almost 87,000. In addition to this all countries had many wounded: some 124,000 allies and over 250,000 Turks.

The impact on these events on the young nations of Australia and New Zealand was particularly horrific. A whole generation of young men's lives changed forever and the events of those 240 days will survive in our nation's history even now long after the last diggers have all gone.

Lest We Forget

Rememberance

To commemorate the 80th anniversary of Armistice Day, the 11th November 1998, the premier of NSW, the Hon. Bob Carr, renamed the bridge formerly known as Glebe Island Bridge to "ANZAC Bridge" as a memorial to the ANZACs .

A four metre bronze statue of a World War 1 Digger was placed on the western end monument on April 25, 2000. The statue, funded by the NSW state government, was designed by artist Alan Somerville and is now very much a part of Sydney.