Numbers were up for Anzac Day - particularly at the Wellington dawn service, which was packed.
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President of the RSL Sub Branch Peter Dowell said it made him optimistic about the future of Anzac Day as more schools and young people got involved.
"People have got pride in the country and it reflects in these sorts of occasions, that's why it's important we continue to get the Anzac Day ceremony right," he said.
"I hope it will get stronger as the young people take up the cudgel.
"You don't have to have war to have Anzac Day.
"It's about mateship and service, that's what it comes down to."
Similarly guest speaker Sergeant Robert Althofer said he was often asked what Anzac Day meant to him and that he felt it was about the values that servicemen and women upheld of courage, mateship, endurance and sacrifice.
Mayor Rod Buhr said it was a day for communities to share their stories.
"The stories that are passed from generation to generation, while rarely pleasant, must be told," he said.
"It is this day that we come together to remember those that fought and paid the ultimate sacrifice in defence of the freedom and liberty we enjoy today."
At Geurie, former resident Kevin Hockey spoke about his own experience as a police and court officer before telling the story of the Rats of Tobruk.
"The Australian troops were always known as larrikins, usually they were the ones out partying," he said.
"But when it came to the heat of battle they were second to none. They loved being considered the underdog and never gave ground.
"I spent my working life trying to uphold justice and liberty and that's what the service men and women tried to uphold."