A dawn service is underway at the pā on the outskirts of Waitara where the first shots of the New Zealand wars were fired in 1860.
Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin
The ceremony kicks off the second day of the commemorations of the New Zealand wars being held in Taranaki in 2019.
RNZ's Taranaki Whanganui reporter Robin Martin is at the ceremony at Te Kohia pā.