[masterslider id="1"] With Australian flags, poppies and rosemary sprigs pinned to their clothes, the old and young -thousands of residents - have lined the streets of Wollongong today to mark the 100th anniversary of the Anzac troops landing at Gallipoli.
The march started from the Church Street, past MacCabe Park cenotaph, on to Burelli Street, Kembla Street, and Stewart Street to WIN Stadium in the morning.
Welcoming the crowd, Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery said the Illawarra's transformation from the small collection of towns and villages in 1915 into a free and abundant city today thanks to the great price paid by soldiers from Gallipoli onwards.
Underlining the significance of Anzac day commemorations for every Australian, Illawarra Aboriginal leader Sharralyn Robinson said two of her family members fought at Gallipoli.
"Today we remember, today I pay respect to both my husband's grandfather and my grandfather, as they both fought the battle at Gallipoli," she said.
Sporting Australia-themed clothes, the old and young waved and cheered military bands, school choirs and marches.
Anzac Day marks the 25 April 1915 landing of soldiers from Australia and New Zealand at Gallipoli Cove, part of an Allied effort to capture the peninsula from the Ottoman Empire for a strategic advantage in World War I.
