Te Whare Runanga was lit up as hundreds gathered in the dark before it on the Waitangi Treaty grounds this morning.

It was 183 years ago there that Māori rangatira signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi with the Crown.

A dawn service commemorated the signing and all that has happened since for Aotearoa New Zealand.

Politicians, the Governor-General and the chief justice offered karakia.

"183 years ago people gathered here to do something very bold," Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said, in a prayer asking for trust, understanding and a common purpose.

📹 Nate McKinnon