A roughly 600-strong crowd, young and old, encircled the monument with returned service men and women at its centre.
A small patch of turned earth, with neat rows of white crosses, to the left of the memorial, stood to further represent lives lost in war.
Local Anglican Rev Bruce Cavanagh gave a tribute and then led a prayer before announcing the laying of the wreaths.
Gore RSA president Bradley Bridgman and Gore District Mayor Ben Bell both laid tributes.
The crowd then flowed into the Gore RSA behind to warm up with hot drinks and conversation.
Two-time cancer survivor and East Timor veteran Nigel Cuckow said he felt like he had been cared for and honoured by Southland RSAs.
Mr Cuckow said the Gore faction had supported him through two battles with mouth cancer.
He said the association twice supported him financially while he went through treatment and was unable to work.
"In a situation like that, they’ve supported me," he said.
"It’s like a family."
The Invercargill RSA also paid for the new pair of glasses he was wearing using proceeds from its poppy fund, he said.
When he first returned from serving in East Timor in 2002, he felt he had come back to "nothing".
It took him 20 years and the help of the "strong" Gore RSA to make him feel like a returned serviceman.
Mr Cuckow’s son Jack was there to support him.
A couple of hours later in Mataura, where the temperature had dropped to 1°C, a crowd of 60 moved through the mist to the town’s cenotaph.
The parade was led by the Hokonui Celtic Pipe Band and the memorial heard words from former RSA president Dave Mackenzie and pastor Mike Whale.
