They had a room set aside at their hotel for a small ceremony involving members of the Australian and New Zealand armed services, as well as Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Trade Minister David Parker.
The event was time to coincide with Remembrance Day events in Australia, at 11 am, on the 11th day of November, when peace was declared.
Turnbull and Ardern each said a few words and then stood for a minute's silence to mark not just the end of the First World War but the countries' casualties on all wars.
"It remains a New Zealand rite of passage to visit our ancestors in carefully war cemeteries in places like Belgium, Malta, Turkey and Greece," Ardern said.
"Perhaps it is these every day physical reminders that explain why New Zealanders to this day place a high premium on peace.
"We owe it to those who made the ultimate sacrifice in war not to be complacent about the peace they gifted us."
