The World Athletics Heritage Plaque is awarded for "an outstanding contribution to the worldwide history and development of the sport of track and field athletics and of out of stadia athletics disciplines such as cross country, mountain, road, trail and ultra-running, and race walking".
The plaque programme was inaugurated by World Athletics president Lord Sebastian Coe in 2018.
Whanganui Sports Heritage Trust's Russell Sears said the honour was recognition for Whanganui and its people.
"It is a ground that was developed by the citizens of the day over 125 years ago and operated and developed by volunteers along with the district council," Sears said.
"I'm sure anyone who has had an association with Cooks Gardens, be it athletics, cycling, rugby, cricket or as a spectator knows what a wonderful asset Whanganui has."
Sears said Cooks Gardens and Whanganui were indebted to Snell and the other six athletes who made history in 1962.
"Athletics-wise it put Whanganui on the world stage and, through Snell's effort, athletes from around the world still want to run a mile at Cooks Gardens. "
There had been 69 sub four-minute miles by 45 athletes from nine countries at the venue, Sears said. The track record belongs to double Olympic medallist Nick Willis who ran a time of 3:52.75 in 2006.
"A special thank you goes out to the people of Whanganui and the volunteers who have been part of the old Wanganui Amateur Athletic and Cycling Club.
"Also, our friends from overseas, especially Dave Moorcroft (former Olympian and world record holder for 5000 metres) from England. He has helped a lot."
Whanganui mayor Hamish McDouall said the plaque honoured not just a famous event, but also Cooks Gardens as a premier sports venue with a long history.
"It also honours Whanganui which has such a deep sporting heritage," McDouall said.
"On behalf of the district I want to thank everybody who worked hard to obtain this award - but also everybody who has worked to make Cooks such an incredible facility capable of hosting international events."
McDouall said Cooks Gardens was the first place both the Springboks and British Lions ever played in New Zealand.
"We've had incredible athletics and cycling, when the ring used to be around the grass track. Shell Cup cricket was played there in the '80s as well.
"You just have to look at the list of people who have run there. Mo Farah for instance, who came third apparently."
The plaque recognised the venue as a special place for everyone who had competed there, McDouall said.
"This just adds to Whanganui's deep sports heritage.
"You just have to shake a tree and another incredible sports person falls out, whether it's Israel Adesanya, Peter Belliss, or anyone called Osborne."
Snell's world record winning race is firmly imprinted in the memories of many who attended the event.
Former Whanganui mayor Annette Main, who was nearly 11 years old at the time, witnessed Snell's historic run first-hand.
"It was one of the most exciting nights of my life," Main said.
"I remember standing just to the left of where the Snell Pavilion used to be, so there was a fabulous view of the whole audience and the race.
"The crowd went absolutely wild. They all sang 'For He's A Jolly Good Fellow', and it filled the whole stadium.
"He [Snell' was fabulous, as were all the other athletes. Obviously afterwards they were mobbed by everybody, but somehow they managed to sign an awful lot of autographs and they happily did that with people thronging all around them.
"I take my hat off to the guys who keep organising the Cooks Classic and keep the memory of that night alive."
Former New Zealand head cycling coach Ron Cheatley was also in attendance, and managed to get the autographs of all the runners in the famous mile.
|I was only a young fella then, I had only just started cycling. They had a lot of cycling events on that same night, but my father thought I was a bit too inexperienced to race.
"I just hung over the fence and watched everything. It was an amazing night."
He still had the official programme with Snell's signature on it.
"When Peter came out to unveil the statue [at Cooks Gardens] I showed it to him and he said 'Wow, I've never seen one of these'. I asked him if he wanted to keep it but he just said 'Mate, you keep it. One day it might be worth a bit'."
Nights like those had inspired him to continue on with cycling, Cheatley said.
"It's been 60 years since I joined the club, and it's been my life really. It started off at that night with Peter Snell."
Other names to have run the mile at Cooks Gardens include Kip Keino, Jurgen May, Pekka Vasala, Steve Cram, Dave Moorcroft and Mo Farah, as well as New Zealanders Sir John Walker, Jack Lovelock, Sir Murray Halberg, Rod Dixon and Dick Quax.
The first athletics meet took place at the venue in December 1897 and leading Whanganui athlete Arthur Holder won the very first race.
Holder set a world record for the 300 yards in Napier in 1896. He also set a world best time for the 440 yard hurdles (3ft 6ins) in 1897.
The venue is now home to the annual Cooks Classic, which features the mile event. Last year it held the first New Zealand mile championship event for 52 years.
This year's Classic, which is a challenger competition within the World Athletics Continental Tour, takes place on Sunday, January 30.
Under the Covid-19 red traffic light setting, no spectators will be allowed but the event can be viewed online from 4pm on Sunday on Sky Sports Next at https://youtu.be/lIie2T0PAkg
