Speaker represents NZ Government at Gallipoli

That New Zealand, Australia and Turkey had been able to put the bloodshed of Gallipoli behind them must provide some hope for modern day peacekeepers of the three nations, Speaker Margaret Wilson says.

In a speech to the dawn service at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, Ms Wilson said the battle at Gallipoli was arguably the most traumatic event in the history of New Zealand.

From the outset, the Anzac part of the Gallipoli landings "went terribly wrong".

In the end, the cost to New Zealand of the Gallipoli campaign was 2721 dead and 4752 wounded out of a total 8450 men - a staggering 88 per cent, Ms Wilson said.

"The remains of those killed were left here; two-thirds were either never found or remained unidentified."

After the battle, the leadership of Kemal Ataturk - who commanded the Turkish Army's 19th division and became the founder of post-war Turkey - inspired three generations of New Zealanders and Turkish, sparking the pilgrimage of thousands of New Zealanders and Australians to Turkey to honour their Gallipoli dead.

More and more Turkish people were travelling to New Zealand and Australia to renew acquaintances and see for themselves the home lands of their invaders, Ms Wilson said.

"Who would have thought that we could put that behind us and embrace one another in friendship, respect and admiration. This must provide some hope for the modern day peacekeepers of our three nations and give the lie to the claim by some that 'once an enemy, always an enemy'," she said.

- NZPA