The pre-dawn service on the Treaty grounds at Waitangi ended on a jarring note on Sunday with an unexpected prophecy by a Ngapuhi elder.
Gray Theodore, an elderly retired clergyman, startled the congregation with a prophecy about Wellington.
He said he had had a vision of Wellington falling into the sea in a huge earthquake and tsunami.
"I see the roof of the Beehive lying in the debris of Wellington," he said.
The dignitaries filed out of the meeting house looking less than festive. They included Prime Minister John Key and Opposition leader Phil Goff.
Earthquakes which caused notable damage in Wellington were a magnitude 8.2 event on 23 January, 1855, and a magnitude 7.2 event on 24 June, 1942. Both were on the Wairarapa fault line.
