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 933

District of Riverton Quarter ending 31 December 1902 Registrar Alexander George Ashley

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

637

17 October 1902

John Pirie
Bathia Fowlie Robbie

John Pirie
Bathia Fowlie Robbie
💍 1902/6032

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Dressmaker

33
26

Limestone Plains
Waimatuku

33 years
18 years

At the Registrar's Office, Riverton

02/6146

17 October 1902

A. G. Ashley, Registrar

No	637
Date of Notice	17 October 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Pirie	Bathia Fowlie Robbie
	💍 1902/6032
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Dressmaker
Age	33	26
Dwelling Place	Limestone Plains	Waimatuku
Length of Residence	33 years	18 years
Marriage Place	At the Registrar's Office, Riverton
Folio	02/6146
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 October 1902
Officiating Minister	A. G. Ashley, Registrar

638

21 October 1902

Dugald MacDonald
Mary Ann Waldie

Dugald MacDonald
Mary Ann Waldie
💍 1902/6033

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Seamstress

58
40

Wild Bush
Riverton

35 years
3 days

At the Presbyterian Manse, Riverton

02/6148

21 October 1902

Rev. Robert McCully

No	638
Date of Notice	21 October 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Dugald MacDonald	Mary Ann Waldie
	💍 1902/6033
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Seamstress
Age	58	40
Dwelling Place	Wild Bush	Riverton
Length of Residence	35 years	3 days
Marriage Place	At the Presbyterian Manse, Riverton
Folio	02/6148
Consent
Date of Certificate	21 October 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. Robert McCully

639

22 November 1902

Finlay Sutherland
Louisa Stroud

Finlay Sutherland
Louisa Stroud
💍 1902/6035

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic Duties

27
23

Nightcaps
Fairfax

24 years
23 years

At the residence of the bride's parent, Fairfax

02/6150

22 November 1902

Rev. W. W. Brown

No	639
Date of Notice	22 November 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Finlay Sutherland	Louisa Stroud
	💍 1902/6035
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic Duties
Age	27	23
Dwelling Place	Nightcaps	Fairfax
Length of Residence	24 years	23 years
Marriage Place	At the residence of the bride's parent, Fairfax
Folio	02/6150
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 November 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. W. Brown

640

28 November 1902

Thomas Medrick Baxter
Mary Jane Gilmour

Thomas Nedrick Baxter
Mary Jane Gilmour
💍 1902/6034

Bachelor
Spinster

Rabbit Agent
Domestic Duties

32
20

Riverton
Riverton

1 year
3 years

At the residence of Mrs. Thos. Gilmour, South Riverton

02/6149

Thomas Gilmour, father of Mary Jane Gilmour

28 November 1902

Rev. Robert McCully

No	640
Date of Notice	28 November 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Medrick Baxter	Mary Jane Gilmour
BDM Match (98%)	Thomas Nedrick Baxter	Mary Jane Gilmour
	💍 1902/6034
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Rabbit Agent	Domestic Duties
Age	32	20
Dwelling Place	Riverton	Riverton
Length of Residence	1 year	3 years
Marriage Place	At the residence of Mrs. Thos. Gilmour, South Riverton
Folio	02/6149
Consent	Thomas Gilmour, father of Mary Jane Gilmour
Date of Certificate	28 November 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. Robert McCully

641

22 December 1902

Thomas Alexander McNeill
Catherine Barbara Anderson

Thomas Alexander McNeill
Catherine Barbara Anderson
💍 1902/6016

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic Duties

29
23

Thornbury
Wrights Bush

29 years
5 years

At the residence of Mr. Geo. Anderson, Wrights Bush

02/6154

22 December 1902

Rev. G. W. Davidson

No	641
Date of Notice	22 December 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Alexander McNeill	Catherine Barbara Anderson
	💍 1902/6016
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic Duties
Age	29	23
Dwelling Place	Thornbury	Wrights Bush
Length of Residence	29 years	5 years
Marriage Place	At the residence of Mr. Geo. Anderson, Wrights Bush
Folio	02/6154
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 December 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. G. W. Davidson

642

27 December 1902

Harry Hodges
Anne McNickel

Harry Hodges
Annie McNickel
💍 1902/6253

Bachelor
Spinster

Sawmill Hand
Domestic Duties

25
23

Riverton
Riverton

3 days
14 years

Roman Catholic Church, Riverton

02/6392

27 December 1902

Rev. John Sheehan

No	642
Date of Notice	27 December 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Harry Hodges	Anne McNickel
BDM Match (96%)	Harry Hodges	Annie McNickel
	💍 1902/6253
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Sawmill Hand	Domestic Duties
Age	25	23
Dwelling Place	Riverton	Riverton
Length of Residence	3 days	14 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Riverton
Folio	02/6392
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 December 1902
Officiating Minister	Rev. John Sheehan

643

31 December 1902

George Pont
Marguerite Sophia Phoebe Hannah Stimpson

George Pont
Marguerite Sophia Phoebe Hannah Stimpson
💍 1902/358

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Domestic Duties

32
16

Colac
Colac

7 years
1 month

Registrar's Office, Riverton

02/6147

Francis John Stimpson, brother & guardian of Marguerite Sophia Phoebe Hannah Stimpson

31 December 1902

H. C. N. Ladley, Deputy Registrar

No	643
Date of Notice	31 December 1902
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Pont	Marguerite Sophia Phoebe Hannah Stimpson
	💍 1902/358
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Domestic Duties
Age	32	16
Dwelling Place	Colac	Colac
Length of Residence	7 years	1 month
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Riverton
Folio	02/6147
Consent	Francis John Stimpson, brother & guardian of Marguerite Sophia Phoebe Hannah Stimpson
Date of Certificate	31 December 1902
Officiating Minister	H. C. N. Ladley, Deputy Registrar

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).