Dignitaries included representatives of the Kingitanga movement, Maori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell and MPs Peeni Henare, Kelvin Davis, Nanaia Mahuta and Pita Paraone. They accepted three spine-tingling challenges and passed between rows of hundreds of fierce warriors, their bodies coated in mud, red ochre and paint.
Kawiti descendant Pita Tipene said the Northern War was really about self determination for Maori and, in Kawiti's case, Ngati Hine. Kawiti feared Maori would be assimilated and their culture would be lost.
"He was prepared to put his own life, and his people's, on the line to protect their essence and particularly their land," Mr Tipene said.
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One of the most significant outcomes of the battle, and subsequent peace agreement, was that Ngati Hine retained much of its land - unlike iwi further south whose land had been confiscated in the aftermath of war.
Former MP Shane Jones said the event was long overdue. Battle sites such as Ohaeawai, Otuihau and Ruapekapeka could be major attractions and more importantly reminded a new generation about a significant but often neglected chapter of Northland's history.
Several speakers at the dawn ceremony called for the commemorations to be held every year. Given the power and interest of the young people involved on Sunday, Mr Jones said he saw every chance of that happening.
Ms Mahuta and Mr Flavell have also called for a national day to remember the New Zealand wars.
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The Battle of Ruapekapeka Pa was the last of a series of skirmishes and battles that began with the Battle of Kororareka in 1845, famously signalled by Hone Heke's felling of the flagpole.
British forces suffered a disastrous rout at Ohaeawai then turned their attention to Ruapekapeka, subjecting the pa to a two-week bombardment until its defences were finally breached on January 10, 1846.
The outcome was inconclusive as the defenders, who were outnumbered four to one, slipped away before the pa could be occupied.
The British studied Kawiti's pa, with its complex system of palisades, trenches and tunnels, and applied his ideas in the Crimean War and World War I.
The site is administered by the Department of Conservation as a historic reserve. Many of the pits, tunnels and earth defences are still intact.
Operations manager Sue Reed-Thomas said Ruapekapeka was one of DoC's most iconic historic reserves and one of the best preserved.
In 2008 Ruapekapeka Pa was formally recognised by the NZ Institute of Professional Engineers for outstanding innovation in engineering.
