Intentions to Marry, 1902 South Island

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840422, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Luke and Carole at Archives NZ Wellington, October 3 and October 8, 2025.

1902 is bound in two volumes, North Island districts and South Island districts.

Page 774

District of Invercargill Quarter ending 31 March 1902 Registrar J. John Gaymon Petu

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

15 March 1902

James Proit
Laura Margaret Daummon

James Moir
Laura Margaret Daumann
💍 1902/410

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

28
21

Invercargill
Invercargill

9 days
5 Weeks

Residence of Peter Anderson, Leet Street, Invercargill

02/1402

15 March 1902

Rev. George Lindsay

No	36
Date of Notice	15 March 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Proit	Laura Margaret Daummon
BDM Match (82%)	James Moir	Laura Margaret Daumann
	💍 1902/410
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	28	21
Dwelling Place	Invercargill	Invercargill
Length of Residence	9 days	5 Weeks
Marriage Place	Residence of Peter Anderson, Leet Street, Invercargill
Folio	02/1402
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 March 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. George Lindsay

19 March 1902

Thomas Nicholls
Mabel Cameron

Thomas Nicholls
Mabel Cameron
💍 1902/407

Bachelor
Spinster

Shepherd
Domestic

23
21

Myrahe, Invercargill
Invercargill

5 years
5 years

Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Invercargill

02/1391

19 March 1902

Registrar of Marriages, Invercargill

No	37
Date of Notice	19 March 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Nicholls	Mabel Cameron
	💍 1902/407
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Shepherd	Domestic
Age	23	21
Dwelling Place	Myrahe, Invercargill	Invercargill
Length of Residence	5 years	5 years
Marriage Place	Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Invercargill
Folio	02/1391
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 March 1902
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages, Invercargill

19 March 1902

John Watson Gardiner
Martha Ewen Walker

John Watson Gardiner
Martha Ewing Walker
💍 1902/3309

Bachelor
Spinster

Blacksmith
Domestic

27
20

Mataura
Long Bush, Invercargill

15 years
20 years

Residence of Robert Walker, Long Bush, Invercargill

02/2958

Robert Walker, Father

19 March 1902

Rev. Owen Bissett

No	38
Date of Notice	19 March 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Watson Gardiner	Martha Ewen Walker
BDM Match (95%)	John Watson Gardiner	Martha Ewing Walker
	💍 1902/3309
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Blacksmith	Domestic
Age	27	20
Dwelling Place	Mataura	Long Bush, Invercargill
Length of Residence	15 years	20 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Robert Walker, Long Bush, Invercargill
Folio	02/2958
Consent	Robert Walker, Father
Date of Certificate	19 March 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. Owen Bissett

25 March 1902

Charles Alfred Trow
Ina Catherine Elizabeth Young

Charles Alfred Trow
Molena Catherine Elizabeth Young
💍 1902/429

Bachelor
Spinster

Carter
Domestic

22
21

North Invercargill
Woodlands, Invercargill

6 months
5 years

First Presbyterian Church, Tay Street, Invercargill

02/1421

25 March 1902

Rev. J. Gibson Smith

No	39
Date of Notice	25 March 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Alfred Trow	Ina Catherine Elizabeth Young
BDM Match (94%)	Charles Alfred Trow	Molena Catherine Elizabeth Young
	💍 1902/429
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carter	Domestic
Age	22	21
Dwelling Place	North Invercargill	Woodlands, Invercargill
Length of Residence	6 months	5 years
Marriage Place	First Presbyterian Church, Tay Street, Invercargill
Folio	02/1421
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 March 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Gibson Smith

25 March 1902

Albert George Butt
Matilda Henrietta Campbell

Albert George Bull
Matilda Henrietta Campbell
💍 1902/428

Bachelor
Spinster

Bushman
Domestic

28
21

Mataura, Invercargill
Mataura, Invercargill

3 days
3 days

Presbyterian Church, Mataura, Invercargill

02/1420

25 March 1902

Rev. James Cumming

No	40
Date of Notice	25 March 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Albert George Butt	Matilda Henrietta Campbell
BDM Match (94%)	Albert George Bull	Matilda Henrietta Campbell
	💍 1902/428
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bushman	Domestic
Age	28	21
Dwelling Place	Mataura, Invercargill	Mataura, Invercargill
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church, Mataura, Invercargill
Folio	02/1420
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 March 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. James Cumming

25 March 1902

William Gregory Waddell
Charlotte Austin

William Gregory Waddell
Charlotte Austin
💍 1902/420

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

23
22

Mataura, Invercargill
South Mataura, Invercargill

1 year
5 months

Residence of John Austin, Mataura

02/1395

25 March 1902

Rev. Thomas A. Ryburn

No	41
Date of Notice	25 March 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Gregory Waddell	Charlotte Austin
	💍 1902/420
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	23	22
Dwelling Place	Mataura, Invercargill	South Mataura, Invercargill
Length of Residence	1 year	5 months
Marriage Place	Residence of John Austin, Mataura
Folio	02/1395
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 March 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. Thomas A. Ryburn

27 March 1902

Joseph James Read
Elizabeth Brown Walker

Joseph James Read
Elizabeth Brown Walker
💍 1902/3320

Bachelor
Spinster

Storekeeper
Domestic

28
22

Woodlands, Invercargill
Woodlands, Invercargill

2 1/2 years
2 1/2 years

Residence of Robert Walker, Woodlands, Invercargill

02/2959

27 March 1902

Rev. Owen Bissett

No	42
Date of Notice	27 March 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Joseph James Read	Elizabeth Brown Walker
	💍 1902/3320
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Storekeeper	Domestic
Age	28	22
Dwelling Place	Woodlands, Invercargill	Woodlands, Invercargill
Length of Residence	2 1/2 years	2 1/2 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Robert Walker, Woodlands, Invercargill
Folio	02/2959
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 March 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. Owen Bissett

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).