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 274

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 31 March 1902 Registrar L. C. Williams

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

160

25 March 1902

William Watt known as Medhurst
Aurelia Christianna Jensen

William Medhuist
Aurelia Christianne Jensen
💍 1902/839

Bachelor
Spinster

Saddler
Domestic

25
24

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 days
5 years

St Lukes

02/1008

25 March 1902

Rev. Archd. S. Lingard, Anglican

No	160
Date of Notice	25 March 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Watt known as Medhurst	Aurelia Christianna Jensen
BDM Match (73%)	William Medhuist	Aurelia Christianne Jensen
	💍 1902/839
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Saddler	Domestic
Age	25	24
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 days	5 years
Marriage Place	St Lukes
Folio	02/1008
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 March 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. Archd. S. Lingard, Anglican

161

25 March 1902

Alexander Owen Hullett
Mabel Lillian Hullett

Alexander Owen
Mabel Lillian Hullett
💍 1902/907

Widower
Spinster

Estate Agent
Domestic

65
29

Christchurch
Linwood

2 years
29 years

House of Mr. Hullett

02/1093

25 March 1902

Rev. R. J. L. Seacombe, Congregationalist

No	161
Date of Notice	25 March 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alexander Owen Hullett	Mabel Lillian Hullett
BDM Match (82%)	Alexander Owen	Mabel Lillian Hullett
	💍 1902/907
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Estate Agent	Domestic
Age	65	29
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Linwood
Length of Residence	2 years	29 years
Marriage Place	House of Mr. Hullett
Folio	02/1093
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 March 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. J. L. Seacombe, Congregationalist

162

25 March 1902

Albert William Rankin
Constance Power

Albert William Rankin
Constance Proctor
💍 1902/905

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk
Dressmaker

26
19

Spreydon
Spreydon

20 years
2 years

House of Alexander Power, Rector, 2 Wilderness Rd, Spreydon

02/1091

Alexander Power, father

25 March 1902

Rev. J. J. Hollis, Baptist

No	162
Date of Notice	25 March 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Albert William Rankin	Constance Power
BDM Match (88%)	Albert William Rankin	Constance Proctor
	💍 1902/905
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk	Dressmaker
Age	26	19
Dwelling Place	Spreydon	Spreydon
Length of Residence	20 years	2 years
Marriage Place	House of Alexander Power, Rector, 2 Wilderness Rd, Spreydon
Folio	02/1091
Consent	Alexander Power, father
Date of Certificate	25 March 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. J. Hollis, Baptist

163

25 March 1902

Ernest Charles Ayrey
Sarah Elizabeth Turner

Edward Charles Ayrey
Sarah Elizabeth Turner
💍 1902/827

Bachelor
Spinster

Bootmaker

30
22

St Michaels
Christchurch

30 years
22 years

St Michaels

02/1082

25 March 1902

Rev. R. G. B. Lovie, Anglican

No	163
Date of Notice	25 March 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Ernest Charles Ayrey	Sarah Elizabeth Turner
BDM Match (88%)	Edward Charles Ayrey	Sarah Elizabeth Turner
	💍 1902/827
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bootmaker
Age	30	22
Dwelling Place	St Michaels	Christchurch
Length of Residence	30 years	22 years
Marriage Place	St Michaels
Folio	02/1082
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 March 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. G. B. Lovie, Anglican

164

25 March 1902

James Ostler
Nellie Beake

James Ostler
Nellie Blake
💍 1902/1083

Widower
Widow

Builder
Seamstress

55
49

Riccarton
Linwood

27 years
1 year

Registrar's Office, Christchurch

02/972

25 March 1902

Registrar, Christchurch

No	164
Date of Notice	25 March 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Ostler	Nellie Beake
BDM Match (96%)	James Ostler	Nellie Blake
	💍 1902/1083
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Builder	Seamstress
Age	55	49
Dwelling Place	Riccarton	Linwood
Length of Residence	27 years	1 year
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Christchurch
Folio	02/972
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 March 1902
Officiating Minister	Registrar, Christchurch

165

25 March 1902

Henry Louis John Collins
Amy Burchall

Henry John Collins
Amy Burchall
💍 1902/1082

Widower
Spinster

Mechanic
Domestic

32
36

Christchurch
Linwood

3 years
3 years

Registrar's Office, Christchurch

02/971

25 March 1902

Registrar, Christchurch

No	165
Date of Notice	25 March 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Louis John Collins	Amy Burchall
BDM Match (88%)	Henry John Collins	Amy Burchall
	💍 1902/1082
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Mechanic	Domestic
Age	32	36
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Linwood
Length of Residence	3 years	3 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Christchurch
Folio	02/971
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 March 1902
Officiating Minister	Registrar, Christchurch

166

25 March 1902

Sydney Walter Sykes
Gertrude Sykes

Sydney Walter Frost
Gertrude Wykes
💍 1902/883

Bachelor
Spinster

Blacksmith
Domestic

25
24

Christchurch
St Albans

3 days
24 years

House of Mr. Sykes, Kerrs Rock, St Albans

02/1068

25 March 1902

Rev. G. S. Parkinson, Methodist

No	166
Date of Notice	25 March 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Sydney Walter Sykes	Gertrude Sykes
BDM Match (83%)	Sydney Walter Frost	Gertrude Wykes
	💍 1902/883
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Blacksmith	Domestic
Age	25	24
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	St Albans
Length of Residence	3 days	24 years
Marriage Place	House of Mr. Sykes, Kerrs Rock, St Albans
Folio	02/1068
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 March 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. G. S. Parkinson, Methodist

167

26 March 1902

Hugh Maude Reenes
Emily Hasper

Hugh Maude Reeves
Emily Harper
💍 1902/2779

Bachelor
Spinster

Journalist

32
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

32 years
21 years

The Cathedral, Christchurch

02/2598

26 March 1902

Rt. Rev. Bishop Julius, Anglican

No	167
Date of Notice	26 March 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Hugh Maude Reenes	Emily Hasper
BDM Match (93%)	Hugh Maude Reeves	Emily Harper
	💍 1902/2779
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Journalist
Age	32	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	32 years	21 years
Marriage Place	The Cathedral, Christchurch
Folio	02/2598
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 March 1902
Officiating Minister	Rt. Rev. Bishop Julius, Anglican

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).