In February 1925 the Australian branches of the British Medical Association offered to commission a gift for the new London headquarters of the parent organisation in Tavistock Square. After some discussion it was decided that the gift should be a President’s chair for the Great Hall. The chair was to be designed and made in Britain incorporating Australian materials and emblems. Constructed in Australian Black Bean wood, the Australian coat of arms is emblazoned on the front and an inscription about why the chair was commissioned is on the back.

The chair was designed by the British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869-1944) who had also been commissioned by the BMA to design the building for their new headquarters. Lutyens studied architecture at the South Kensington School of Art and later trained with Ernest George and Harold Ainsworth. In 1888 he started his own practise and having followed the Arts and Crafts style in his early years, he later developed a more classical style. This chair is by no means typical of Lutyens' work but it is a good example of the historicist leanings of the George V period when some designers looked to the exuberant baroque forms of the 17th century for inspiration. The robust form of the chair with its turned front legs, scrolling arms, high crested seat-back and leather upholstery is clearly influenced by furniture from the earlier period.