Nearly 1000 people have started their day at a Melbourne Invasion Day dawn service, acknowledging and mourning the frontier wars and Aboriginal massacres.

The service at Kings Domain - where the bodies of 38 Victorian first nations people are buried - included speeches, a minute's silence, a smoking and ochre ceremony and the reading out of known massacre sites across the state.

Getty Images AsiaPac

"It was quite an emotional ceremony and there were people from all parts of our society, all nationalities and people were heartfelt in terms of sharing what we call this day and that is a day of mourning," Gunnai-Kurnai and Gunditjmara woman and former Northcote MP Lidia Thorpe told AAP.

A dawn service was held because "this country stops for a horse race, it stops for an AFL grand final, it stops for the Queen's birthday and it stops for an Anzac service and we don't have ever a time where this country stands still to reflect on first peoples of this country and the pain and suffering we've endured since colonisation."

At least a thousand turned out to invasion day dawn service in Naarm. List of massacres in Victoria was read out, with a minutes silence pic.twitter.com/2idshadrh2 — Laura Murphy-Oates (@lauramoates) January 25, 2019

Ms Thorpe said she hoped the dawn service was a peaceful way to bring Australians together around acknowledging the hurt Australia Day brings for Aboriginal people.

A treaty with the first nations is also needed, which consults indigenous and non-indigenous Australians, Ms Thorpe said.

"We need a peace," she said.

The dawn service preceded the Invasion Day protest in the Melbourne CBD which will start from about 10.30am and coincides with the official flag raising and Australia Day parade.