As St George locals lit up the dawn on their driveways, hundreds of others were able to commemorate Anzac Day the traditional way as dawn services were held for the first time in two years.
Grant Amer, Kogarah Clubhouse general manager, said the biggest crowd in a long time - around 350 people - turned up for the march to Jubilee Park Cenotaph.
"We had very good feedback and a lot of children there representing various clubs including St George AFL, Kogarah Soccer, the local Scouts group, naval cadets, some of the local schools including Kogarah Marist and Carlton South Public School, and the Kogarah RSL youth club had a big contingent there," Mr Amer told the Leader.
"People were conscious of the Covid safety procedures but they were also interested in supporting Anzac Day since they weren't able to do it last year. There were very strong sentiments from people that they love to get out and pay their respects."
After the Leader spoke with Mr Amer, he was heading to watch the Anzac entertainment at the club from 11.30am, and Two Up was scheduled to begin at 12pm, with money raised to be donated to St George Children with Disabilities Fund.
"We hope to raise a lot of money on the day and that the members and the public have a good day and remember the people that have served our nation," Mr Amer said.
Over at Mortdale, RSL Sub-Branch Secretary Royce Lockhart said all 500 tickets were taken to their 6am dawn service at Mortdale Memorial Park, making the event well-attended while in keeping with Covid regulations.
"We had 500 attendees without the barricaded area of the park and there were a lot of people outside the barricades that also attended. Our dawn service breakfast at the Mortdale RSL Club was extremely well-attended as well," Mr Lockhart said.
"I've had a lot of comments from people that thought the service went extremely well."
Mr Lockhart - an ex-RAAF cook - was headed to the Anzac march in Sydney later on in the day, where he was to march with the Australian World War One Descendants, for which he is vice president.