Numbers at the dozens of services around the province were consistently high. Some were at record levels, such as in East Otago wheremore than 650 attended the five services. About 2000 were at the Queenstown dawn service and the Arrowtown and Glenorchy commemorations.
Anzac Day services in Dunedin were well patronised, thanks in part to the glorious autumn day which emerged from a cloudy dawn.
At the centrepiece, the dawn service at the Cenotaph in Queens Gardens, a crowd estimated by some to number about 10,000 gathered for the service at 6.30am.
Dunedin Returned and Services Association (RSA) president Lox Kellas, giving the Anzac dedication, asked those gathered to remember the deeds of current and former servicemen and women, including those who had not returned.
He also spoke of those who had ``returned and remained silent'', reflecting the RSA's focus with this year's poppy appeal on veterans' mental health and the unseen scars of war.
``Today we recognise what that silence was caused by.''
Mr Kellas is stepping down after 20 years leading the city's annual Anzac Day and Armistice Day commemorations.
Delivering this year's Anzac address, Royal New Zealand Navy Commodore and deputy commander Joint Forces New Zealand David Proctor said while they were there to remember those who had served and died overseas in the navy, army and air force, they should also take a moment to reflect on the emergency services ``who protect us domestically every day''.
Comm Proctor asked those gathered to reflect on both the physical and emotional impact of wars on veterans.
``I also ask you to think about the families of our veterans. They, too, pay the cost of service and sacrifice,'' he added.
A two-round salute was fired by the Otago Gunners Association from a 25-pounder at 6.30am.
Later, at 9am, the inaugural Anzac Day service outside the Dunedin Railway Station was held in honour of New Zealand Railways employees killed during all wars.
About 150 people attended the brief service in Anzac Sq, in front of the Passchendaele Plaque at the station's entrance.
The University of Otago and Otago University Students' Association held a combined service at 1.30pm outside the Staff Club. Eight hundred people were estimated to have attended, about half of whom were students.
The ceremony honoured those who fought and there was also a strong emphasis on valuing peace.
