Thousands of people gathered at the Werribee cenotaph for the Anzac Day dawn service today.
Werribee RSL president Daryl Ryan said he thought there were between 6000 and 7000 people at the Watton Street event.
“All you can do is thank everyone who came and make it a great day, it was especially good to see so many young ones here,” he said.
During his speech at the service, Mr Ryan talked about the importance of remembering all Australian men and women who have died during conflicts, including prisoners of war.
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Wyndham mayor Peter Maynard said that those who had lost their lives during wars “died for Australia”.
“I thought the service today was amazing, it always is, the amount of people who come out and commemorate it, especially the youth,” Cr Maynard said.
“It’s not about celebrating war, it’s commemorating the sacrifices people made and their families.
“It makes you proud to be an Aussie.”
Cr Maynard laid a wreath at the cenotaph during the Anzac service, on behalf of the council and Wyndham residents.
Several schools, kindergartens, businesses and community groups also laid wreaths, along with Werribee MP Tim Pallas, Lalor MP Joanne Ryan and the Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia Melbourne West Sub-branch president Jim Coghlin.
The anthems of Australia and New Zealand were played, in addition to the Last Post.
Among the crowd who gathered for the Anzac Day commemoration was 91-year-old World War II veteran Paul Lapira.
Mr Lapira, who lives in Point Cook with one of his daughters, was born in Malta.
He enlisted in the Maltese Army at the age of 15.
“The Germans, they didn’t stop bombing Malta,” he said.
Paul Lapira at the dawn service. Picture: Damjan Janevski
Mr Lapira became a policeman in Malta after the war and later moved to Australia with his wife Carmen.
The couple were married for 65 years, and lived on the Gold Coast for decades, before Mrs Lapira passed away.
Mr Lapira, a member of the Nerang RSL Sub-branch, said he had attended an Anzac Day service every year, carrying both the Australian and Maltese flags.
This year, he woke up at 3.30am to get ready for the Werribee Anzac Day service.
“God bless Australia and Malta,” he said.
“Malta is my homeland, Australia adopted me.”
Mr Lapira, who has seven great-grandchildren, proudly wore his war service medals at the Anzac service.
He also wore the medals his father received for serving in World War I.
