Wanganui's Standard Chain Mark was a technological revolution in its time. It was laid down in Moutoa Gardens within 12 months of New Zealand's first standard chain mark being placed at Wellington's Government Buildings in 1879. The chain mark introduced new standards of accurate measurement to the Wanganui region and ensured local measurements met a national standard. 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.

The Standard Chain Mark at Moutoa Gardens was designed and built by the Department of Lands and Survey in 1880 and was fixed in position under the direction of Wanganui's first District Surveyor, John Annabel. It consists of a concrete strip laid down on top of the ground with a concrete block about 30 cm square at either end. Each of the blocks is surmounted by a square brass plate. The distance between the two brass plates is 100 links, or one chain. Surveyors used a standard chain mark to establish the correct length of one chain for their own equipment. The Wanganui Standard Chain Mark could accommodate both old and new forms of the surveyor's equipment, that is Gunter chains and steel tapes respectively. It was first used in 1880 to draw up a plan for the newly formed Wanganui Harbour Board. Standard chain marks were also used as the starting point for the government survey - known as a standard survey - and the first Wanganui standard survey was carried out in June 1883. By 1901 the standard chain mark was no longer in general use, surpassed by changes in technology.

By the early 1970s the Standard Mark had become obscured by grass. In 1972 the Wanganui City Council, at the request of the Whanganui Historical Society, uncovered the mark and placed a plaque alongside it.

Wanganui's Standard Chain Mark is significant as a rare example of surveying technology used in nineteenth century New Zealand. It is associated with a new government policy, following the abolition of the provinces in 1876, to introduce and standardise the surveying profession in New Zealand. At the local level it brought a standardisation of surveying to Wanganui and was a key element in the standard survey of the city. It is also associated with Wanganui's first District Surveyor, John Annabel.