SYDNEY—Thousands of people have observed a minute of silence in the usually bustling centre of Sydney to mark Remembrance Day.
War veterans, families and dignitaries gathered at the Cenotaph in Martin Place on the 91st anniversary of the end of World War I.
NSW Premier Nathan Rees, federal Veterans Affairs Minister Alan Griffin and NSW Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell were among those who laid wreaths on the Cenotaph during a sombre ceremony.
Silence fell over the crowd, which filled several blocks of Martin Place, as the Last Post was sounded by a lone bugle player.
Clock bells sounded 11 times and the crowd, many with medals and poppies pinned to their chests, closed their eyes and bowed their heads in reflection.
Colonel Michael Mahy, who served in East Timor in 2001 and Iraq in 2006, recalled marking Remembrance Day in Iraq.
He said the extraordinary sacrifice of ordinary soldiers had taught modern combatants to show courage, be bold and to believe in themselves.
"We do not honour our dead to glorify war over peace or to assert a soldier's character above a civilian's," Colonel Mahy told the crowd.
"Or one race, or one nation, or one religion above another.
"Or men above women, or the war in which they fought and died, above any other war.
"Or one generation above any that has been or will come later.
"Remembrance Day honours the memory of all those men and women who laid down their lives for their country.
"Today is a reminder of what we've lost in war and what we have gained."
A Gallipoli Lone Pine tree will be planted on the rooftop garden of Parliament House later on Wednesday as a constant reminder of the sacrifices of war.
