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 067

District of Buller Quarter ending 31 March 1902 Registrar William George Douglas

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

10 January 1902

John Graham
Ellen West

John Graham
Ellen Lyseight West
💍 1902/3166

Widower
Spinster

Master Mariner
Domestic

50
24

Westport
Westport

3 days
since birth

Residence of Henry Todd, Westport

02/841

10 January 1902

Rev. J. R. Dart, English Church Clergyman, Westport

No	1
Date of Notice	10 January 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Graham	Ellen West
BDM Match (76%)	John Graham	Ellen Lyseight West
	💍 1902/3166
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Master Mariner	Domestic
Age	50	24
Dwelling Place	Westport	Westport
Length of Residence	3 days	since birth
Marriage Place	Residence of Henry Todd, Westport
Folio	02/841
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 January 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. R. Dart, English Church Clergyman, Westport

11 January 1902

Ralph Henry Nicolson
Margaret Anderson

Ralph Henry Nicolson
Margaret Anderson
💍 1902/3162

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk
Domestic

36
21

Westport
Westport

3 years
since birth

Residence of Mrs. R. Ayles, Peel Street, Westport

02/835

11 January 1902

Rev. John Hall, Presbyterian Clergyman, Westport

No	2
Date of Notice	11 January 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Ralph Henry Nicolson	Margaret Anderson
	💍 1902/3162
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk	Domestic
Age	36	21
Dwelling Place	Westport	Westport
Length of Residence	3 years	since birth
Marriage Place	Residence of Mrs. R. Ayles, Peel Street, Westport
Folio	02/835
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 January 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. John Hall, Presbyterian Clergyman, Westport

21 January 1902

James Hugh Leaver
Elizabeth Agnes Corina Ferguson

James Hugh Leaver
Elizabeth Agnes Corina Ferguson
💍 1902/6468

Bachelor
Spinster

Saddler
Domestic

26
20

Westport
Westport

3 years
since birth

Residence of Leo Ferguson, Westport

02/836

Leo Ferguson, Father

21 January 1902

Rev. John Hall, Presbyterian Clergyman, Westport

No	3
Date of Notice	21 January 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Hugh Leaver	Elizabeth Agnes Corina Ferguson
	💍 1902/6468
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Saddler	Domestic
Age	26	20
Dwelling Place	Westport	Westport
Length of Residence	3 years	since birth
Marriage Place	Residence of Leo Ferguson, Westport
Folio	02/836
Consent	Leo Ferguson, Father
Date of Certificate	21 January 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. John Hall, Presbyterian Clergyman, Westport

24 January 1902

Thomas Graham Sherlock
Janet Young

Thomas Graham Sherlock
Janet Young
💍 1902/3349

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

26
23

Westport
Westport

23 years
20 years

Registrar's Office, Westport

02/3082

24 January 1902

W. George Douglas, Registrar for Buller

No	4
Date of Notice	24 January 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Graham Sherlock	Janet Young
	💍 1902/3349
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	26	23
Dwelling Place	Westport	Westport
Length of Residence	23 years	20 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Westport
Folio	02/3082
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 January 1902
Officiating Minister	W. George Douglas, Registrar for Buller

30 January 1902

Alfred John Craddock
Mary Catherine Killen

Alfred John Craddock
Mary Catherine Killen
💍 1902/1707

Bachelor
Spinster

Carter
Domestic

32
22

Westport
Addison's

32 years
22 years

Roman Catholic Church at Addison's

02/368

30 January 1902

Rev. Thos. Walshe, R. C. Clergyman, Westport

No	5
Date of Notice	30 January 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alfred John Craddock	Mary Catherine Killen
	💍 1902/1707
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carter	Domestic
Age	32	22
Dwelling Place	Westport	Addison's
Length of Residence	32 years	22 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church at Addison's
Folio	02/368
Consent
Date of Certificate	30 January 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. Thos. Walshe, R. C. Clergyman, Westport

11 February 1902

William Moust
Catherine Duggan

William Mouat
Catherine Duggan
💍 1902/1708

Bachelor
Spinster

Gold Miner

26
20

Charleston
Cape Foulwind

25 years
20 years

Mrs. Scanlan's Hotel, Westport

02/369

Jeremiah Duggan, Father

11 February 1902

Rev. Thos. Walshe, R. C. Clergyman, Westport

No	6
Date of Notice	11 February 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Moust	Catherine Duggan
BDM Match (96%)	William Mouat	Catherine Duggan
	💍 1902/1708
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Gold Miner
Age	26	20
Dwelling Place	Charleston	Cape Foulwind
Length of Residence	25 years	20 years
Marriage Place	Mrs. Scanlan's Hotel, Westport
Folio	02/369
Consent	Jeremiah Duggan, Father
Date of Certificate	11 February 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. Thos. Walshe, R. C. Clergyman, Westport

11 February 1902

William John Rufus Green
Annie Williams

William John Rufus Green
Annie Williams
💍 1902/3164

Thomas Turner
Annie Williams
💍 1902/3192

Bachelor
Spinster

Railway Porter

23
21

Granity
Westport

3 years
21 years

Residence of Alf Williams, Westport

02/838

11 February 1902

Rev. Robert P. Keall, Wesleyan Clergyman, Westport

No	7
Date of Notice	11 February 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William John Rufus Green	Annie Williams
	💍 1902/3164
BDM Match (60%)	Thomas Turner	Annie Williams
	💍 1902/3192
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Railway Porter
Age	23	21
Dwelling Place	Granity	Westport
Length of Residence	3 years	21 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Alf Williams, Westport
Folio	02/838
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 February 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. Robert P. Keall, Wesleyan Clergyman, Westport

28 February 1902

Harry Dalkie
Elizabeth Mary Crisp Burdett Walker

Harry William Henry Dalkie
Elizabeth Mary Crisp Burdett Walker
💍 1902/3167

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

23
22

Westport
Westport

12 years
12 years

Residence of Mrs. Walker at The Beach, Westport

02/842

28 February 1902

Rev. J. R. Dart, English Church Clergyman, Westport

No	8
Date of Notice	28 February 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Harry Dalkie	Elizabeth Mary Crisp Burdett Walker
BDM Match (73%)	Harry William Henry Dalkie	Elizabeth Mary Crisp Burdett Walker
	💍 1902/3167
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	23	22
Dwelling Place	Westport	Westport
Length of Residence	12 years	12 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Mrs. Walker at The Beach, Westport
Folio	02/842
Consent
Date of Certificate	28 February 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. R. Dart, English Church Clergyman, Westport

5 March 1902

Arthur Hinf
Jessie Beack

Arthur King
Jessie Black
💍 1902/3168

Widower
Spinster

Hotelkeeper

59
24

Westport
Westport

36 years
18 months

Residence of Walter Hinf, Westport

02/843

5 March 1902

Rev. J. R. Dart, English Church Clergyman, Westport

No	9
Date of Notice	5 March 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur Hinf	Jessie Beack
BDM Match (87%)	Arthur King	Jessie Black
	💍 1902/3168
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Hotelkeeper
Age	59	24
Dwelling Place	Westport	Westport
Length of Residence	36 years	18 months
Marriage Place	Residence of Walter Hinf, Westport
Folio	02/843
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 March 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. R. Dart, English Church Clergyman, Westport

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 1903. 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).