Gallipoli packed ahead of Anzac Day

The narrow roads at Gallipoli have been swamped as pilgrims sneak in a last look before Anzac Day. Source: AAP

THE narrow beach-side roads at Gallipoli have been swamped by unwieldy tour buses as pilgrims sneak in a last look before the Anzac Day commemorations.

ROADS around the Gallipoli National Park were jammed on Thursday as Australian, New Zealand and Turkish tourists crammed into the area and organisers put final touches on the sites where the centenary services will be held.
From Friday, movement around the area will be restricted and organisers will ramp up security as the 10,000 Kiwis and Australians who're attending the Dawn Service start arriving. New Zealand Veterans' Affairs Minister Craig Foss says things are looking good at the sites where the services will be held. "There's nothing that we can control that hasn't been looked into, looked after," he said. His only concern was crowd management - but that would be fine if people were patient and the weather "blesses us well". Mr Foss was at the Gallipoli Simulation Centre where he unveiled a diorama of Quinn's Post and explained it to the New Zealand Youth Ambassadors present for the ceremony. He said he wanted young people to understand that the values and freedoms that New Zealanders enjoy every day "didn't come cheap". "To me every single day is important to acknowledge those that have laid down to allow us the freedom to be who we are today." Mr Foss' Australian counterpart Senator Michael Ronaldson also talked about what the day meant for young people. "I want the next generation of Australians and the generation after that to understand that the word Anzac is synonymous with service and sacrifice," he said. "If they understand, they will remember, and if they remember, they will do the things this nation will ask of them." Prime ministers John Key and Tony Abbott, Prince Charles and Prince Harry will all be in Gallipoli for commemorative services on Friday afternoon.