Dawkins, who won gold in the team sprint and bronze in the individual sprint at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow earlier this year, set a New Zealand record in the sprint (9.873sec).
The three days at the Avantidrome in Cambridge marked the first event at which cyclists could pick up qualifying points towards the 2016 Rio Olympics.
As well as the Kiwis, cyclists from Australia, the United States, Malaysia, Ireland, Canada and the Czech Republic were on show.
Australian Jacob Schmid laid down the challenge to Dawkins when he was the first sprinter to go under 10sec in qualifying, and the Southlander responded in emphatic fashion.
However, Dawkins lost his quarterfinal match to fellow Kiwi Zac Williams, who also beat sprint world champion Ethan Mitchell.
Mitchell lost his semifinal to Australian Shane Perkins, who lost to Schmid in the final.
Another Southlander, Liam Aitcheson, won the elite men's scratch race, timing his final push to the finish perfectly with three laps left.
Highly-rated New Zealand rider Regan Gough won the men's 40km points race, lapping the field and beating the second-placed Aaron Gate by 14 points.
Just three weeks before the Oceania championships in Adelaide, New Zealand track head coach Dayle Cheatley said the event was a good way to get rid of some rust after a three-week break.
''Across the board our sprinters were there or thereabouts, and only just off their personal bests, with Eddie the exception today, with his New Zealand record,'' he said.
''Overall given the heavy training block the team had and coming back after a three-week break, the results have been encouraging and an excellent lead-in to the Oceania championships in three weeks.''
A full-strength team made up of about 30 riders will be selected for the four-day championship across the Tasman.
