Ten-thousand voices joined in unison to recite "we will remember them" as dawn broke over the Mount Maunganui War Memorial Cenotaph.
Mount Maunganui's Anzac dawn service was described by many people who attended it as the best yet.
The crowds stretched in either direction of the cenotaph, lining the roadside, Mount Drury, the beach and the grass dunes.
Traffic was reportedly backed up for kilometres before the service.
Although there were thousands of people in one area, the crowd was hushed from the moment veterans, returned servicemen and women, emergency services, cadets and Scout groups marched to their place of honour.