The chair was located on the Kawarau River, in the mouth of the Kawarau Gorge, downstream from Walkers Creek.

A wire rope stretched across the Kawarau River from Mt Difficulty to Ripponvale, attached to anchor blocks high on the river terraces. A wooden box was suspended from iron supports and pulleys which ran along the wire rope. A hemp rope was also fixed to each shore, suspended in loops from the wire rope and attached to the wooden box cage. This enabled the person in the cage to pull himself across the river by hauling on the hemp rope. (The author has not been able to find any details about the ownership of this chair.)