He's got used to it now, and said he's still five foot eight inches high and getting on with whatever he's doing. On Thursday, it was a bit of fencing he wanted to finish.
Mr Edmonds has lived in Raetihi all his life and he keeps busy to avoid boredom. He's sheared, fenced, logged and farmed for others, and on his own Ruakaka Farm.
He's also been on a few boards; the Atihau-Whanganui Incorporation, the Morikau Incorporation and the Federation of Māori Authorities. He's been elected to the Waimarino and Ruapehu councils, chaired Raetihi Marae and been a cultural adviser to Winstone Afforestation.
He took an interest in politics while Helen Clark was in Parliament. He had reporter friends and got to sit in the parliamentary press gallery once a month.
"I wanted to see if government ministers were any different from how we see things out here. I got invited to a few occasions in the Beehive," he said.
Mr Edmonds has five children, 13 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren, but he and his wife Patsy have raised and supported many others.
"He really represents the spirit of our community in all his endeavours," his nominators said.
