Armistice centenary: Silences observed in Australia and New Zealand

Hundreds gathered at the Pukeahu National War Memorial Park in Wellington, New Zealand Credit: Elias Rodriguez/PA

Crowds have fallen silent across Australia and New Zealand to commemorate the centenary of the Armistice.

Tens of thousands of Australians and New Zealanders gave their lives in the First World War.

Thousands gathered for a national service of remembrance at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, where Prime Minister Scott Morrison led a minute’s silence at 11am (midnight Saturday GMT).

In Sydney, crowds gathered at the Anzac Memorial, an extension of which was unveiled by the Duke of Sussex during his recent trip with Meghan, while there was also a service at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne.

Some 331,000 Australians served overseas during the First World War, the vast majority of whom fought on the Western Front alongside British soldiers and their allies.

Over 60,000 died in the conflict, more than two-thirds on the battlefields of Europe.

Earlier, large crowds attended the Pukeahu National War Memorial Park in Wellington for New Zealand’s main remembrance ceremony, where a minute’s silence was observed at 11am (10pm GMT Saturday).

Nearly 100,000 served in New Zealand units overseas, with around a fifth never returning home.