Thousands gather at Hamilton's Memorial Park for Anzac Dawn service

The Waikato Mounted Rifles stood guard at the Cenotaph while the Anzac Dawn service was held on Wednesday morning in Hamilton. Photo / Tom Rowland

More than a thousand people gathered at Memorial Park early on Wednesday for Hamilton's Anzac dawn service.

Beneath the dark sky on a cold autumn morning, Memorial Park was illuminated in red in remembrance of the fallen soldiers with thousands of red poppies lining its banks.

Among the poppies were 350 white crosses in remembrance of Hamiltonian lives which had been lost in war. Those in attendance surrounded them in silence while waiting for the ceremony to begin.

Army, navy and air force, police, cadets and New Zealand Scouts formed part of the dawn service and parade which marched from the city centre Memorial Park and circled the Cenotaph.

Children to grandparents stood at salute while the parade finished its march.

RSA padre Lieutenant-Colonel Don Oliver spoke to the crowd and thanked each member for being in attendance to remember those who had made the "ultimate sacrifice".

"We are here because they were there," Lt Colonel Oliver said.

The Waikato Rivertones choir led the service in renditions of both the Australian and New Zealand national anthems, before the LastPost was sounded from Memorial Park across the banks of the Waikato River.

Not a sound was heard as the large crowd who gathered in the park observed a minute's silence before the blessing was given

"At the going down of the sun and in the morning. We will remember them."