Intentions to Marry, 1901 South Island

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840420, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Carole at Archives NZ Wellington, September 22 2025

1901 is bound in two volumes, North Island districts and South Island districts.

Page 134

District of Nelson Quarter ending 30 September 1901 Registrar S. Blomfield

Date of Notice

Names and Surnames of Parties

BDM Match

Condition

Calling or Profession

Age

Dwelling Place

Length of Residence

Marriage Place

Folio

Consent

Date of Certificate

Officiating Minister

3 July 1901

George John Batchelor
Matilda Emma Pellew

George John Batchelor
Matilda Emma Pellew
💍 1901/3168

Bachelor
Spinster

Sugar Boiler
Household Duties

32
23

Harper Street, Nelson
St. Vincent Street, Nelson

15 years
23 years

At the residence of Edwin Thomas Pellew, St. Vincent Street, Nelson

01/3676

3 July 1901

F. W. Chatterton, Church of England Minister

No	49
Date of Notice	3 July 1901
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George John Batchelor	Matilda Emma Pellew
	💍 1901/3168
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Sugar Boiler	Household Duties
Age	32	23
Dwelling Place	Harper Street, Nelson	St. Vincent Street, Nelson
Length of Residence	15 years	23 years
Marriage Place	At the residence of Edwin Thomas Pellew, St. Vincent Street, Nelson
Folio	01/3676
Consent
Date of Certificate	3 July 1901
Officiating Minister	F. W. Chatterton, Church of England Minister

3 July 1901

Leslie Alton Hebberd
Harriett Louisa Pahl

Leslie Alton Hebberd
Harriett Louisa Pahl
💍 1901/3167

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic Service

23
20

Wakapauka
Washington Valley, Nelson

7 days
7 days

At the residence of John Sloss, Washington Valley, Nelson

01/3675

John F. Pahl, Father

3 July 1901

F. W. Chatterton, Church of England Minister

No	50
Date of Notice	3 July 1901
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Leslie Alton Hebberd	Harriett Louisa Pahl
	💍 1901/3167
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic Service
Age	23	20
Dwelling Place	Wakapauka	Washington Valley, Nelson
Length of Residence	7 days	7 days
Marriage Place	At the residence of John Sloss, Washington Valley, Nelson
Folio	01/3675
Consent	John F. Pahl, Father
Date of Certificate	3 July 1901
Officiating Minister	F. W. Chatterton, Church of England Minister

6 July 1901

Robert Octavious Sutton
Amelia Catherine Collins

Robert Octavious Sutton
Amelia Catherine Collins
💍 1901/3140

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic Servant

20
19

Richmond
Collingwood Street, Nelson

1 year
19 years

At the office of the Registrar of Marriages, Nelson

01/3669

William Sutton, Father; Edward Collins, Father

6 July 1901

S. Blomfield, Registrar of Marriages, Nelson

No	51
Date of Notice	6 July 1901
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Octavious Sutton	Amelia Catherine Collins
	💍 1901/3140
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic Servant
Age	20	19
Dwelling Place	Richmond	Collingwood Street, Nelson
Length of Residence	1 year	19 years
Marriage Place	At the office of the Registrar of Marriages, Nelson
Folio	01/3669
Consent	William Sutton, Father; Edward Collins, Father
Date of Certificate	6 July 1901
Officiating Minister	S. Blomfield, Registrar of Marriages, Nelson

22 July 1901

Henry Thomas Kidson
Mary Louisa Melhuish

Henry Thomas Kidson
Mary Louisa Melhuish
💍 1901/3169

Bachelor
Spinster

Plumber
Domestic Duties

30
28

St. Vincent Street, Nelson
Hampden Street, Nelson

4 weeks
3 weeks

All Saints' Church, Vanguard Street, Nelson

01/3677

22 July 1901

F. W. Chatterton, Church of England Minister

No	52
Date of Notice	22 July 1901
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Thomas Kidson	Mary Louisa Melhuish
	💍 1901/3169
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Plumber	Domestic Duties
Age	30	28
Dwelling Place	St. Vincent Street, Nelson	Hampden Street, Nelson
Length of Residence	4 weeks	3 weeks
Marriage Place	All Saints' Church, Vanguard Street, Nelson
Folio	01/3677
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 July 1901
Officiating Minister	F. W. Chatterton, Church of England Minister

23 July 1901

Arthur Gardiner
Margaret Vann

Arthur Gardiner
Margaret Vann
💍 1901/3170

Bachelor
Spinster

Painter
Domestic Duties

29
26

Bronte Street, Nelson
Parere Street, Nelson

2 years
9 years

All Saints Church, Vanguard Street, Nelson

01/3678

23 July 1901

F. W. Chatterton, Church of England Minister

No	53
Date of Notice	23 July 1901
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur Gardiner	Margaret Vann
	💍 1901/3170
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Painter	Domestic Duties
Age	29	26
Dwelling Place	Bronte Street, Nelson	Parere Street, Nelson
Length of Residence	2 years	9 years
Marriage Place	All Saints Church, Vanguard Street, Nelson
Folio	01/3678
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 July 1901
Officiating Minister	F. W. Chatterton, Church of England Minister

26 July 1901

Hans Henry Busch
Kezia Lusty

Hans Henry Busch
Kezia Lusty
💍 1901/3138

Bachelor
Spinster

Carter
Domestic Duties

23
28

Toi Toi Valley, Nelson
Richmond

3 months
25 years

At the residence of Mr. Francis Lusty, Richmond

01/3667

26 July 1901

R. S. Gray, Baptist Minister

No	54
Date of Notice	26 July 1901
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Hans Henry Busch	Kezia Lusty
	💍 1901/3138
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carter	Domestic Duties
Age	23	28
Dwelling Place	Toi Toi Valley, Nelson	Richmond
Length of Residence	3 months	25 years
Marriage Place	At the residence of Mr. Francis Lusty, Richmond
Folio	01/3667
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 July 1901
Officiating Minister	R. S. Gray, Baptist Minister

29 July 1901

Edward Sutton
Jane Ching

Edward Sutton
Jane Ching
💍 1901/3564

Widower
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic Duties

39
35

Hope
Hope

20 years
35 years

At the residence of Mrs. Emma Simmonds, Waimea West

01/4036

29 July 1901

T. G. Carr, Wesleyan Minister

No	55
Date of Notice	29 July 1901
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Sutton	Jane Ching
	💍 1901/3564
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic Duties
Age	39	35
Dwelling Place	Hope	Hope
Length of Residence	20 years	35 years
Marriage Place	At the residence of Mrs. Emma Simmonds, Waimea West
Folio	01/4036
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 July 1901
Officiating Minister	T. G. Carr, Wesleyan Minister

30 July 1901

John Victor Hagart
Amelia Ann Hartley

John Victor Hagart
Amelia Ann Hartley
💍 1901/3139

Bachelor
Spinster

Mariner
Domestic Duties

38
23

Waimea Street, Nelson
Waimea Street, Nelson

4 days
6 weeks

At the office of the Registrar of Marriages, Nelson

01/3668

30 July 1901

S. Blomfield, Registrar of Marriages, Nelson

No	56
Date of Notice	30 July 1901
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Victor Hagart	Amelia Ann Hartley
	💍 1901/3139
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Mariner	Domestic Duties
Age	38	23
Dwelling Place	Waimea Street, Nelson	Waimea Street, Nelson
Length of Residence	4 days	6 weeks
Marriage Place	At the office of the Registrar of Marriages, Nelson
Folio	01/3668
Consent
Date of Certificate	30 July 1901
Officiating Minister	S. Blomfield, Registrar of Marriages, Nelson

31 July 1901

John Nelson Nalder
Jane Lydia Mary Bradley

John Nelson Walder
Jane Lydia Mary Bradley
💍 1901/3171

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk
Household Duties

25
24

Hardy Street, Nelson
Wakefield Quay, Nelson

3 years
24 years

All Saints' Church, Vanguard Street, Nelson

01/3679

31 July 1901

F. W. Chatterton, Church of England Minister

No	57
Date of Notice	31 July 1901
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Nelson Nalder	Jane Lydia Mary Bradley
BDM Match (97%)	John Nelson Walder	Jane Lydia Mary Bradley
	💍 1901/3171
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk	Household Duties
Age	25	24
Dwelling Place	Hardy Street, Nelson	Wakefield Quay, Nelson
Length of Residence	3 years	24 years
Marriage Place	All Saints' Church, Vanguard Street, Nelson
Folio	01/3679
Consent
Date of Certificate	31 July 1901
Officiating Minister	F. W. Chatterton, Church of England Minister

10 August 1901

Nathaniel Hooper
Amy Gertrude Binford

Nathaniel Hooper
Amy Gertrude Burford
💍 1901/3172

Bachelor
Spinster

Warehouseman
Household Duties

31
27

Milton Street, Nelson
Cambria Street, Nelson

10 days
5 weeks

All Saints' Church, Vanguard Street, Nelson

01/3680

10 August 1901

F. W. Chatterton, Church of England Minister

No	58
Date of Notice	10 August 1901
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Nathaniel Hooper	Amy Gertrude Binford
BDM Match (95%)	Nathaniel Hooper	Amy Gertrude Burford
	💍 1901/3172
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Warehouseman	Household Duties
Age	31	27
Dwelling Place	Milton Street, Nelson	Cambria Street, Nelson
Length of Residence	10 days	5 weeks
Marriage Place	All Saints' Church, Vanguard Street, Nelson
Folio	01/3680
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 August 1901
Officiating Minister	F. W. Chatterton, Church of England Minister

These records have been automatically transcribed and must be verified using the page image (below)

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What is an Intention to Marry?

The 1854 Marriage Act required Pakeha settlers (and later Maori) to register their intention to marry from 1855. The resulting Notices of intention to marry were sent by the district registrars to the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages and bound into large volumes, each containing a year of notices. These registers were eventually deposited with Archives New Zealand.

What information does an ItM record?

A typical Intention to Marry notice records:

the bride and groom's full names
occupation of the groom (and sometimes the bride)
their ages
district where the marriage would take place
how long they had resided in the district
Where the marriage would take place (eg, a specific church)
Who would officiate the marriage (eg, a minister)
The date of the notice and also a date when the certificate was issued. Marriages had to take place within 3 months, and usually occurred within a week or so of the certificate date.
If one of the parties was under 21, a parent who consented to their marriage was usually specified

These details can provide clues for genealogical and historical research. Knowing the date and district makes it easier to look for wedding notices in Papers Past, and the amount of time that the parties had resided in a district can offer clues to whether a person was born in NZ, or when they immigrated.

However, finding individual records in the Intentions to Marry registers was typically a slow and manual process, usually requiring an in-person visit to Archives NZ's Wellington office (during limited opening hours) and using a handwritten card catalogue index to look up individual names.

Eight years of the registers had been digitised by Archives NZ prior to 2024, but even these digital versions required the use of a manual index and usually examining several pages to locate specific records.

What is the Intentions to Marry Project?

This project aims to transcribe the New Zealand Intentions to Marry registers (from 1855 to 1925) with the assistance of new technology (AI), making the records freely available and easily searchable.

The ITM records have also been cross-referenced with the registered marriages at DIA Births, Deaths and Marriages, where possible (a small fraction of the recorded intentions to marry did not become a registered marriage).

Currently we have almost all records between 1855 and 1908. More registers are being added almost every week.

The project is led by Luke Howison, a web developer who made the free genealogical research search tool NZ Ancestor Search Helper and Archway-style Collections Search. There are also some wonderful volunteers assisting with digitising the registers.

Can I volunteer to help?

Yes, you can! You can sign up to correct errors in the transcribed records and match ITMs with registered marriages.

I am also looking for Wellington-based volunteers to help me digitise more years of the registers. I can provide lighting equipment and a 'clicker' (to trigger your phone's camera).

How is the transcription done?

There are several steps to digitising and transcribing the records:

Digitising the registers (taking clean, straight, high-quality photos)
Processing the digitised pages by straightening, cropping and sharpening the images
Transcribing each page with a combination of AI tools
Matching each ITM with a registered marriage when possible
Human verification of the transcribed information

The main LLM (AI) used are the Google Gemini Pro and Flash models, which have excellent 'Vision' capabilities, and a generous free tier.

Archives NZ has released the register years they have digitised (1865-69, 1872, 1874 and 1880) under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 license.

The Intention to Marry registers (up to 1925) are more than 100 years old, so their Crown Copyright has expired, putting them in the public domain. This also applies to any 'mechanical reproductions' (eg, pictures or photocopies) of their content without substantial alteration.

The transcribed records on this website are released under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal license, which allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, even for commercial purposes, while giving credit to the creator (NZ Intentions to Marry Project).