Our Story
Arura was born out of the work of Every Boys Rally and Every Girls Rally.
EBR & EGR are church-based uniformed organisations for children and young people from the ages of four to eighteen, delivering a life-changing programme of weekly activities and residential camps and impacting thousands of lives.
Rallies are present in Australia, India, New Zealand and Northern Ireland.
70s
Night Fever, a World Cup, and the first ever Arura…
In 1978 the first ever Arura was held in Australia - this was a camp for several different rallies and provided them with a place to all come together.
Did you know? Arura is an Australian Aboriginal word meaning “camp”.
80s
Leg warmers, the A-Team, and a couple of camps…
In 1984 Northern Ireland hosted its first Arura camp in 1984, and then again in 1988.
1984 - Enniskillen
1988 - Ballymoney
90s
The end of the Cold War, the rise of the Internet, and an unforgettable talent show…
1992 - Coleraine
1996 - Armagh
00s
Mean Girls, iPods and the 118 guys…
The noughts should have seen 3 Arura camps, but after Arura 2000 discussions were had with Australia and New Zealand and it was agreed to only host Arura every 6 years.
2000 - Derry
2006 - Bushmills
10s
Skinny jeans, social media and a return to two previous venues!
The agreement with Aus/NZ didn’t work out, and Arura kicked off a new decade with a camp in Limavady, Co. Londonderry.
2010 - Limavady
2014 - Bushmills
2018 - Armagh
Today
Arura was established as a charity in 2021 with trustees from different churches.
Arura now links like-minded churches together to give their young people an opportunity to experience residential camps that smaller, non-denominational churches may not normally be able to provide.
Churches, rallies, youth fellowships and youth clubs are all welcome to participate at Arura.
The next Arura will take place in Ballymena, July 2024. Will you be there?