The private ceremony is now underway at the Tuakau Town Hall.
There were more leather jackets than suits as a large number of mourners arrived, including Tim Shadbolt and fellow comedians, including Jon Bridges, Ben Hurley and Jeremy Corbett.
Gilmour's coffin, black with yellow flame detail, was carried into the hall shortly after the last mourners arrived on motorbikes.
According to a programme, titled 'Ewen Gilmour's last stand', tributes will be delivered by Sir Peter Leitch and Gilmour's partner Bernadette McKinley.
The road outside the hall has been closed, with many flags in town flying at half-mast.
Following the service Gilmour will be buried at Tuakau Cemetery.
Gilmour, 51, died in his sleep early on Friday at his seaside Port Waikato home.
An outpouring of love and grief followed Friday's news of his death, with Gilmour remembered as a comedy legend by the entertainment industry.
Gilmour won the Billy T Award in 1997 and the Decade Achievement Award from the NZ Comedy Guild in 2010. Recently, he presented the TV3 show Road Madness and appeared as a panelist on 7 Days.
He was highly regarded as an ambassador for Variety NZ, the children's charity, and received a Variety International Presidential Citation.
Gilmour had recently found love again with Ms McKinley. He lost his wife Cathy to cancer in 2011.
Gilmour's coffin - with a WESTIE number plate - was carried from the hall and placed on a motorcycle sidecar.
Close family and friends hugged and wiped tears away as other motorcycles positioned themselves for the ride to the cemetery.
Other family joined the procession in classic ford cars and a red stretch falcon, followed by two classic fire trucks.
- By Nicholas Jones of the New Zealand Herald
