Hundreds of veterans march in Canberra on ANZAC Day

A veterans' march in the nation's capital has wrapped up, marking a milestone for the outgoing governor general.

Transcript

00:00Today's march was the last time that His Excellency the Governor-General David Hurley will observe

00:08an Anzac Day march. Of course he's due to leave that post in the coming months and he

00:14is a very senior military officer with a decorated history and so of course feeling the poignancy

00:22of the moment in particular this year as of course he does and so many other people do

00:27every Anzac Day. It was also the first march in a number of years back on the parade ground at

00:35the Australian War Memorial and this is in fact a redeveloped parade ground. The War Memorial is

00:41going through a significant redevelopment. They wanted to have it ready for Anzac Day this year

00:46and indeed it was and about 1600 veterans marched up Anzac Parade and along this parade ground

00:57and among those who were thanked for their service were two centenarians who were veterans

01:05of World War II but perhaps the most significant feature every year is the number of people who

01:12come and observe this march and who line Anzac Parade to pay their respects to service personnel.

01:20Take a listen to some of those we spoke to. A march with people who actually fought or are still

01:25serving men and women so you know I'm humbled to do that. I'm lucky enough to be able to do it

01:32for my family to be able to see me do it. I came last year and we were quite new to Canberra and

01:37they weren't able to march on the parade grounds last year but they could this year which is really

01:41nice. Patrick we also heard earlier today from the incoming Chief of the Defence Force what did

01:47he have to say? Vice Admiral David Johnston is soon to take up the position as the Chief of the

01:57Defence Force and he gave the address at the dawn service the National Dawn Service at the

02:03Australian War Memorial this morning and he focused on the importance of Anzac Day not just

02:10in remembering those who have lost their lives in conflict but also taking a moment to think about

02:17the people who continue to grieve year on year and who have been left behind. We know how many

02:23Australians have died in the service of our country but we do not know how many grieve each

02:30Anzac Day. How many are grieving amongst us today? The loss of a child, a spouse, a parent, a relative,

02:42a friend. I ask you all to hold in your hearts those who mourn on Anzac Day.

02:51That's Vice Admiral David Johnston there. The dawn service was estimated to have attracted a crowd of

02:5832,000 people and unfortunately it wasn't able to be conducted on this parade ground yet but

03:06we expect that to happen again from next year but still even a very cold Canberra morning

03:11as is typical of this time of year not deterring many thousands of people

03:16coming out to observe this very solemn and significant day in Australian military life.