DESCRIPTION:
After completing rough dwellings for themselves and their families a group of early settlers led by Mr Thomas Ball erected a chapel for worship at Oruaiti, near Mangonui Harbour. The materials were gifted to the church, the kauri timber being from bush on Ball's land and lead for flashings and a piece of heart oak for the door lock were given to the chapel by pioneers who had personally brought out such materials for their own homes. The chapel was non-denominational and services were held each Sunday by one of the settlers. If there was a visiting clergyman in the area, either Anglican or Methodist, he would administer the sacraments.

In 1870 a library was established in the church, with many of the books supplied by Sir Maurice O'Rorke, Speaker of the Auckland Provincial Council and a Member of the House of Representatives. In 1892 the property changed owners, the Ball family selling to the Foster family. After a period of disuse the chapel was put on skids and moved by bullocks closer to the roadside so as to be accessible to the other families. On 22 May 1936 the chapel and the land it sat on were deeded to the Methodist Church by the Foster family. In 1946 the chapel was moved over 80 miles to 149 Kamo Road, Whangarei and on 13 April 1946 it was reopened and rededicated as the Leigh Memorial Church, in honour of Samuel Leigh, the founder of Methodism in New Zealand. The Chapel was just one of the Methodist buildings on the site and was used for weddings and baptisms, as well as a Sunday school.

When the site was to be redeveloped the Chapel's future was questioned. Three options included incorporating it into the new building, returning it to Oruaiti, and presenting it to the newly established Northland Regional Museum. The latter alternative was chosen and in 1975 it was relocated to the present site and renamed Oruaiti Chapel.