B flat to F. One hundred years from the end of the Great War, to 101.

As the opening notes of the bugler's Last Post reverberated from the darkened Shrine of Remembrance at 6.01am on Thursday, there was a diminished crowd to hear it.

The Anzac legend entered its second century this year, if you go by the end of World War I in 1918 as your marker. Now that those significant anniversaries have passed, the question will be how future generations continue to remember Anzac Day.

The dawn service at the Shrine of Remembrance. Credit:Joe Armao

Despite perfect weather conditions, with the Southern Cross shining clear in the pre-dawn sky over the city, there were 10,000 fewer people at Melbourne's dawn service compared to the year before.