Rural Power

A rural seat of power has returned to Taranaki. This so called Presidential Chair was made to order in Stratford to mark the election of Jessie Lees, of Toko, as National President of the Women’s Division Federated Farmers New Zealand in 1966. Money for the chair was raised by Taranaki branches of the organisation which had grown to include over 27,000 members nationwide by this time. Individual members from throughout the province also dipped into their own pockets.

The chair, which is distinguished by the WDFFNZ crest carved into its back and a simple plaque attached to the top, was gifted to 'headquarters' in Wellington in 1967. It remained there until it was donated to Puke Ariki in 2010 by Rural Women New Zealand, as the organisation is now known.