Clouds heavy with mist loomed over the thousands gathered at the Dunedin Cenotaph, their minds heavy with thoughts of service and sacrifice.
The gloomy start to Anzac Day in Dunedin acted as a poignant reminder of the men who laid down their lives as this year marks the 100th since New Zealand's darkest day of war.
An estimated more than 9000 people gathered at Queens Gardens to pay their respects to the fallen and those who returned from war forever changed.
Speakers at the commemorations turned their attention to the Battle of Passchendaele, where, in 1917, more than 1000 New Zealanders died in the bogs of Flanders.
On October 12, 1917, alone more than 2700 New Zealanders were wounded or killed in a single day of action.
The Rev Dr Tony Martin recalled the enormous sacrifice of New Zealand in World War 1.
''It's helpful to remember in the First World War 100,000 New Zealanders served overseas from a population of one million,'' he said.
''More than 18,000 died and 40,000 were casualties. No-one hates war more than those who served.''
Little more than a year from the war's conclusion New Zealand suffered its greatest losses fighting for Passchendaele.
''It was our army's most disastrous day of war and our losses shocked the nation,'' he said.
Dr Martin recalled speaking to a young brigadier, during his time as chaplain in the New Zealand Defence Force, and asking him why he was a soldier: ''I serve as a soldier so we may never experience another Passchendaele'', the young man replied.
''Let us remember our fallen, renew our commitment to each other and our commitment to the causes of justice and peace throughout the world,'' Dr Martin said.
New Zealand Defence Force deputy commander joint forces Air Commodore Kevin McEvoy also evoked Passchendaele during his address. He also spoke of the sacrifices of soldiers serving overseas at present.
About 500 New Zealanders were deployed in areas as disparate as South Sudan, in Africa, and the waters of the South Pacific, protecting Fiji's exclusive economic zone.
''Every day in the Defence Force I serve alongside people I consider ordinary New Zealanders doing extraordinary things,'' he said. Ordinary New Zealanders such as his grandfather, who as a widower left his son in the care of his friend to serve in World War 2.
''Today is about the sacrifices that everyday New Zealanders, like my grandfather, have made,'' he said.
''We get to remember all those who have served and are serving for the New Zealand armed forces and, particularly, those who have lost their lives.''
Dunedin RSA president Lox Kellas called on those present to remember those who served overseas and pay particular reverence to those who did not return.
As Last Post echoed among the silent masses, the mist lifted and the light of dawn broke through the cloud.
And so, as it was with World War 1 and 2 - and in particularly the horror of Passchendaele - light followed the darkness.
