The Dawn Service is conducted as part of ANZAC Day ceremonies to honour those who have fallen in battle.

During World War I, dawn became a favoured time for attacks. Soldiers in defensive positions were woken in the dark before dawn and manned their weapons before first light.

After World War I, returned soldiers sought the comradeship they felt in those quiet, peaceful moments before dawn. A dawn commemorative service, recalling the moments at dawn before battle, became an important form of commemoration after the war.

The preamble is delivered by the Master of Ceremonies at the beginning of the Dawn Service.

The purpose of the preamble is to provide a brief history of the Australian troops’ arrival into Gallipoli.

The direction “stand to” in World War I was used to instruct soldiers to assume positions and man their weapons before an attack. It was used as a sign of readiness for battle.

During the war, soldiers on active duty would be woken before dawn and told to “stand to”, preparing to attack at dawn. Soldiers would fix their bayonets in the dark and await their next instructions.

The long ‘G’ is sounded on the bugle during the Dawn Service ahead of the Ode of Remembrance and the Last Post.

During the war, this note was sounded for those who did not hear the orders to “stand to”. It was a sign for troops to prepare for battle.

The Ode of Remembrance has been recited to commemorate wartime service and sacrifice since 1921.

The Ode is the 4th stanza of the poem For the Fallen by Laurence Binyon. The poem originally published in British newspaper The Times on 21 September 1914.

In 1919, the poem was recited during the unveiling of the London Cenotaph and has since been used as a memorial tradition.

The Ode is read by the RSL State President at the Melbourne Dawn Service.

They shall grow not old,
as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them,
nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun
and in the morning
We will remember them.

The audience responds with: We will remember them.

The Last Post is the bugle call that represents the end of the day’s activities. It is sounded at military funerals to signify that the soldier has gone to their final rest.

On the first anniversary of the World War I armistice, two minutes of silence was first adopted to commemorate the sacrifice of those who had died during the war.

We now hold a minute of silence in ANZAC and Remembrance Day ceremonies to reflect on all those who have died in global conflicts.

The Reveille is played to break the silence that follows the Last Post and one minute of silence, and symbolises the awakening of the fallen into the next world.

It was originally played on the drums and was used to wake sleeping soldiers.

The instruction “stand down” was given to soldiers as permission to leave their defensive positions. It was a sign to relax from their state of readiness for attack.

The Governor of Victoria, Her Excellency Professor the Honourable Margaret Gardner AC will deliver the annual ANZAC Day address.

This poem has become a symbol of the sacrifice paid by those who fought during World War I.

It was written by Canadian medical officer Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae, who later became a casualty of the war in January 1918.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

The lyrics of this hymn ask for God’s guidance throughout life and death.

It is traditionally sung at the ANZAC Day services in Australia and New Zealand.

The national anthem of New Zealand is sung in both Maori and English and is followed by the national anthem of Australia.

Wreaths are laid in the Sanctuary of the Shrine at the Stone of Remembrance.

The Sands of Kuwait is played by bagpipers at the Dawn Service, and was written for Gordon MacKenzie in memory his colleagues who were killed in the first Gulf War.

Flowers of the Forest is a traditional Scottish lament – a song of mourning and remembrance.

It is played to bid farewell to the fallen at funerals and memorial services.

Following the Dawn Service, members of the public are invited to proceed to the Sanctuary of the Shrine to lay a poppy. The red poppy is a symbol of remembrance of those who have died in global conflicts.

They were also a symbol of hope during World War I as they were among the first plants to grow on the Western Front in Europe. They bloomed across battlefields in northern France and Belgium.