Why is this place significant?

The following text was prepared as part of an upgrade project and was completed (25 Sept. 2001) Wanganui's Standard Chain Mark introduced new standards of accurate measurement to the Wanganui region and synchronised local measurements with a national standard. It was laid down in Moutoa Gardens within 12 months of New Zealand's first standard chain mark being placed near Wellington's Government Buildings in 1879. Prior to 1879 there had been no uniform method of surveying in the nine provinces of New Zealand and no uniform standard of qualification for surveyors. When the Office of the Surveyor-General was established after the abolition of the provinces in 1876, one of its first tasks was to standardise surveying measurements throughout the country. By 1872 the use of a continuous steel tape was adopted in New Zealand to measure the distance equivalent to 100 links in what was known as a Gunter chain, and this distance was referred to as one 'chain'. A standard chain mark was used to establish the correct length of a chain. As well, the location of such a mark became a starting point for a government survey, known as a 'standard survey' of a particular district. Standard surveys only took place after a settlement had been established for some time and a standard chain mark had been set up in the area. The standard chain mark at Moutoa Gardens was designed and built by the Department of Lands and Survey in 1880 to standards laid down by the Office of the Surveyor-General. In that same year it was used by a surveyor drawing up the plan for the newly formed Wanganui Harbour Board. The first Wanganui standard survey, however, was not carried out until June 1883. This three-year gap between building the chain mark and fixing it into position occurred because of the need to make allowance for ground movement and stabilisation of the mark. By 1901 the standard chain mark in Moutoa Gardens was no longer in use, superseded by a seven-chain mark laid down in Wanganui's Cooks Gardens. However, a second standard survey carried out at the beginning of the twentieth century showed that the Wanganui Standard Chain Mark could still be used as an accurate survey reference. As the use of the standard chain declined, surpassed by new technologies, the Wanganui Standard Chain Mark disappeared from view beneath grass. In 1972 the Whanganui Historical Society requested the city council to uncover it and suitable plaque was placed alongside.

The following text was prepared as part of an upgrade project and was completed (25 Sept. 2001) The Standard Chain mark consists of a concrete strip laid down on top of the ground with a concrete block about a foot square at either end. Each of the blocks is surmounted by a square brass plate. The plate at the south end has a small hole into which lead has been inserted and the one at the north end has two holes to which metal hooks would have been attached. The distance between the two brass plates in one chain. The concrete strip lies anti-clockwise of true north-south and bears the inscription 'NZ SURVEYS CHAIN STANDARD 1880 66 FEET'. This historic place was registered under the Historic Places Act 1993. The following text is from the original Proposal for Registration considered by the NZHPT Board at the time of registration. ARCHITECT/ENGINEER/DESIGNER: Designed and built by the Department of Lands and Survey. Fixed into position under Wanganui's first District Surveyor John Annabel.

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This historic place was registered under the Historic Places Act 1980. This report includes text from the original Proposal for Registration considered by the NZHPT Board at the time of registration. Please note that entry on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rarangi Korero identifies only the heritage values of the property concerned, and should not be construed as advice on the state of the property, or as a comment of its soundness or safety, including in regard to earthquake risk, safety in the event of fire, or insanitary conditions.