I tīmata ai a Te Roopū Ara Whānui i te tau 1987. He mea whakaingoa te roopū ki te rori matua o Kaikohe nei, nā ko te huarahi o Broadway kia anga nui tonu ki ngā āhua katoa o tēnei hāpori, he hāpori Māori. Ko te kitenga ā ngā kaumātua me ngā kuia i tērā wā he tini rawa ngā mea e taea ana e ngā taitamariki o te kāreti o Te Taitokerau nei, ā ka tū rātou hei rangatira mō te hāpori nei, ā puta noa.

Kua tae kē a Te Roopū Ara Whānui ki ngā whakataetae kapa haka ā-rohe me ngā whakataetae ā-motu. Nō te tau 2006, i whakataetae te roopū mō te tāima tuatahi ki Kirikiriroa, he whakataetae ā-motu. Nanakia anō te roopū nei ki te hoki anō ki te whakataetae ā-motu ki Pōneke i te tau 2008. Ā, i te tau 2016 i tae atu ai ki te whakataetae ā-motu ki roto o Ngāti Kahungunu ki Heretaunga.

Ko ngā mema o te roopū nei, ngā mema o tēnei wā me ngā mema o mua, ia tau o te mahi kapa haka he paihere i a rātou kia mārō ai, kia kore ai e wewete te whanaungatanga i a rātou. Kei reira katoa ngā piki me ngā heke engari ka ū tonu ki te otinga. I roto i ngā whakangūngū ā te roopū, me koi, me kakama anō hoki ngā mema kei pāpaoro. I ngā tau tata noa iho nei, ka whakaarohia ake ētahi whakataukī mā te roopū anō, ā e whakapono atu nei mātou koia tēnei ko te huarahi tika e whiwhi ai ngā mema katoa ki ngā hua. E rua ngā whakataukī kua poupoungia ki tō mātou whare.

we are family, we are friends, and we will not back down until the end

“Wherawheraina, horahoraina.” (Ko te whakamāramatanga mō tēnei whakataukī, me haere te tangata ki te rapu i te mea ngaro i roto i a ia, i tōna whānau, i tōna hapū, i tōna iwi anō hoki. Kia kitea e ia kua hoki ake ki te whakaatu ki te iwi he aha tāna i kite ai, i rongo ai, i ako ai. Ko te tikanga, me whai hua te iwi i tā te tangata i kite ai).

Established in 1987. The name itself was taken from Broadway Road (main street) here in Kaikohe which links culture with our community. Kaumātua and kuia at that time saw potential in the taitamariki here at Northland College that one day they would become leaders of our community and abroad.

Te Roopū Ara Whānui have competed regionally and nationally. In 2006, Te Roopū Ara Whānui competed for the first time at the National Secondary Schools’ Kapa Haka competition in Hamilton and again in 2008 in Wellington. We were very fortunate to have returned to nationals in 2016 in Hastings.

Members of Te Roopū Ara Whānui, both past and present, always maintain a strong sense of whanaungatanga. There are challenging times and there are also the rewarding moments for our performers, especially in the build up to an event. Discipline is key when we are training and everyone must be on the ball. Over the years we have come up with two whakataukī that we believe are key to our success which are;   

we are family, we are friends, and we will not back down until the end

wherawheraina, horahoraina (search for what is missing, and lay it out for everyone to see, hear, feel and understand)