Former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, a lifelong human rights advocate best remembered as an instigator of the 1975 dismissal, is being farewelled by a host of dignitaries at a state funeral in Melbourne.

An estimated 700 mourners have filled Scots Church on Friday, with room for a further 1000-strong crowd to watch the televised memorial at nearby St Michael’s.

His death last week at the age of 84, only five months after foe and later friend Gough Whitlam, closed the most  tumultuous chapter in Australian political history.

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The grateful Vietnamese community has flocked to the church to honour Mr Fraser’s immigration policy, which gave refuge to more than 55,000 refugees from the southeast Asian nation after the anti-communist war.

“Farewell to our true champion of humanity. Malcolm Fraser,” a banner made by the Vietnamese Community of Australia and placed outside the church says.

Former prime ministers Julia Gillard, John Howard (Fraser’s former treasurer) and Paul Keating have joined Prime Minister Tony Abbott at the service.

Bob Hawke and Kevin Rudd were overseas and could not attend.

Mr Fraser’s children, Angela and Mark, addressed the crowd, with his daughter reading the Bible passage’A Time for Everything’ from the book of Ecclesiastes.

His granddaughter Hester wrote and performed a song for the occasion.

“The magnanimity of your ideas will never die,” she sang while playing piano.

“And that is why we only say good-bye. Until we meet again.”

His other granddaughter Rachel raised a laugh among the crowd remembering how Mr Fraser took to technology to promote his causes.

“I’ve got 20,000 (Twitter) followers, how many do you have Rach?” Mr Fraser said about his new-found social medium.

She also spoke of Mr Fraser’s favourite film, and his attempts to get his grand children to watch it with him at any opportunity.

“Granddad’s favourite film was the Bodyguard, because of Whitney Houston,” she said.

Former Nationals MP Peter Nixon, a Fraser cabinet member, said of the dismissal that “the country was going to the dogs”, defending his close friend’s actions.

Mr Fraser served as prime minister from November 1975 to March 1983, recording a landslide election win after being appointed caretaker leader following the dismissal of the Whitlam government on November 11, 1975.

—with AAP.