Rain did not dampen the joint Otago University Students' Association and University of Otago Anzac Day service.
The about 200 people who attended the service dodged showers, as the service shifted inside the Union Hall.
Now in its third year, the event is popular with both university staff and students and those who cannot make the dawn ceremony.
In his Anzac Day address, Colonel (Retd) Roger McElwain spoke of the sacrifice made by soldiers in past wars and in today's conflicts.
''Service ... is still about sacrifice, duty and courage,'' Col McElwain said.
Soldiers who served overseas today still gave up on being there for key moments in the lives of their families and friends.
There was also still a risk of being wounded or killed and 10 New Zealand soldiers had been killed in Afghanistan.
''I knew two of them well, having served with them.
''I buried Lieutenant Tim O'Donnell and attended the commemorative service of Corporal Luke Tamatea.
''I mourn their loss and I grieve for their families.''
He also spoke of the importance of World War 1 in New Zealand's history and the need to honour then prime minister William Massey's pledge to remember those who lost their lives in the war.
The bonds formed during World War 1 created a ''sense of identity and perhaps nationhood'', which was not as strong before the conflict.
The university's Allen Hall is named after James Allen, the defence minister during the war, and Marama Hall is named after a hospital ship.
