What is the significance of April 25?

April 25 is ANZAC Day, the most significant day of national commemoration in Australia. It marks the anniversary of the landing of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) at Gallipoli in Turkey on 25 April 1915, in what became the first major military engagement involving Australian troops as a federated nation.

The Gallipoli campaign was an Allied attempt to force the Dardanelles Strait, knock the Ottoman Empire out of the First World War, and open a supply route to Russia. The plan failed. After eight months of fighting and the loss of more than 8,700 Australian lives and 2,700 New Zealand lives, the Allied forces were evacuated in December 1915 and January 1916. The campaign produced no strategic victory, but the courage and endurance shown by Australian and New Zealand troops became central to the national identity of both countries.

ANZAC Day was first observed in Australia in 1916, on the first anniversary of the landing, with marches and services in cities and towns. It became a public holiday in all states by 1927 and is now a national public holiday across Australia. The day begins with dawn services held at war memorials in every town and major suburb, recreating the timing of the original landing before sunrise on 25 April 1915.

After the dawn service, ANZAC Day continues with marches led by veterans, public addresses, gunfire breakfasts at RSL clubs, and the playing of two-up, a traditional Australian gambling game allowed by law only on ANZAC Day in most states. Major sporting fixtures, including the AFL match between Collingwood and Essendon at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the NRL match between the Sydney Roosters and the St George Illawarra Dragons, are also part of the modern ANZAC Day calendar.