In every city and country town

Across this wide brown land

At dawn on Anzac Day the people come

Some with medals earned in battle

Some bearing floral tributes

All honouring the memory

Of those who fought and died in every war

Since the name Gallipoli was burned

Into our collective consciousness.

Anthems and hymns will be sung

‘Lest We Forget’ will be repeated;

The heart-rending notes of the Last Post

Will bring tears to the eyes

As we remember the tragic loss of life

And the heroism of men and women

Who endured horrendous suffering

On the battlefields and in prison camps.

We thank God for our own peaceful country,

Unlike other lands where conflict rages still,

And while we pray for peace

The silent graves at Lone Pine

And on the shores of Anzac Cove

Bear witness to the folly that is war.