The crowd was joined by crew members of the HMAS Ararat who were the guests for the 2017 commemorations.

Ararat RSL president Frank Neulist said he was pleased with the turnout this year.

“It was a really good turnout for the day considering we were not sure if it would rain,” he said.

“And it is extremely important to get the crew of our namesake ship involved, they are based in Darwin and it has been two years in the planning but very rewarding to see them here.”

 The crew has spent three days in Ararat and visited schools around the district on Monday.

Commanding officer of the naval patrol boat, Lieutenant Fiona Simmonds said it was a big honour to visit the town for the Anzac Day commemorations.

“It is very special to me to come down to the namesake town, meet the locals and it has really been a privilege to get down here and interact with them,” she said.

“It has been something the whole crew has been looking forward to for a while.

“It is something pretty special, it is not something we get to do regularly.”

The dawn service was followed by breakfast at the Ararat RSL with people sharing stories and remembering the lives lost in battle.

Another good crowd lined the street for the march down Barkly St, finishing at the cenotaph ahead of the morning service shortly after 10am.

The morning service followed with guest speaker Lt Simmonds talking about the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea.

“The war that had begun in Europe two years earlier, had truly become a global conflict,” she said.

“Never in Australia’s short modern history had our shores been under a more immediate threat.

“Those concerns were realised on 19 February 1942 when Darwin suffered its first Japanese air raids.”

Following the speech, wreaths were laid followed by the Australian and New Zealand anthems.