The mood at Hobart's Anzac Day dawn service was sombre, but the message was optimistic.

Vietnam veteran Bill Counsell was one of the thousands who rugged up on a chilly but clear Wednesday morning at the city's Cenotaph, overlooking the CBD and River Derwent.

"It's good to see the people. And that they haven't forgotten us, shall we say," Mr Counsell, vice-president of the RSL Hobart sub-branch, told AAP.

"People can quite easily forget what's gone on in the past and get on with their lives."

The veteran was there with his grandson - one of many of the younger generations who huddled together with parents and grandparents.

"The lesson is to learn from our past and try to not make the same mistakes - which as humans, we find it very difficult to do," Mr Counsell said.

Schoolgirl Charlotte Kenny read a poem dedicated to her great-great-grandfather Anthony Arthur Flint, who fought in Belgium during World War I.

More than 15,000 Tasmanian served in the Great War.

Thousands died.

"What a privilege it is to stand here and watch the sunrise, our feet upon settled soils, eyes open to still skies," Charlotte recited.

Anglican Dean of Hobart Richard Humphrey led the prayers.

"We remember those who didn't return to receive the thanks of a nation," he said.

The crowd stood in silence, heads bowed, for a rendition of the Last Post.

Paul Thompson, 57, arrived for the service in the darkness an hour before it started at 6am along with his three children.

"I'm here to remember my dad who was part of the British Royal Navy in World War II," he said.

"This is only one day a year when we all take time to remember. It's not much to give up."

Australian Associated Press