Anzac Day dawn service attracts big crowd

Several thousand people gathered to remember those who have served New Zealand in conflict at Nelson's Anzac Memorial Park this morning.

The dawn service is the first of several services around the district today to commemorate Anzac Day.

Anzac Day marks the anniversary of the ANZAC (Australia New Zealand Army Corps) landing at Gallipoli, on April 25, 1915.

Harvey Ruru opened the service with a karakia before MC Lt Commander Tim Hoffman welcomed those in attendance.

An addition to the dawn service this year was showing of the faces on a big screen of some of the Nelsonians who lost their lives at WW1 and WW2. An RSA sub-committee worked on the project, sourcing photos from the Nelson Provincial Museum's collection.

Another highlight from the service were the youth tributes from Nelson College Māori Head Boy Luca Hippolite and Nelson College for Girls head girls Sui Len Par Thung and Katie Beuker.

Nelson RSA president Barry Pont says the service was a great way to start Anzac Day in the region.

"I was very impressed with the number of veterans who turned up, it was a lot more than normal and the crowd is getting bigger and bigger each year and that's what makes a commemoration, people turning up."

He says after the service, cadets spent the morning placing around 300 poppies on the graves of servicemen and women at the Marsden Valley and Wakapuaka cemeteries.

Details on other services in the region today can be found here.