Intentions to Marry, 1903 South Island

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840424, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Carole at Archives NZ Wellington, October 10 2025.

1903 is bound in two volumes, North Island districts and South Island districts.

Page 253

District of Christchurch Quarter ending 31 March 1903 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

10 January 1903

Nathaniel Charles Dale
Grace Wilson Risk

Nathaniel Charles Vale
Grace Wilson Frost
💍 1903/3149

Bachelor
Spinster

Commercial Traveller

27
26

Christchurch
Christchurch

27 years
26 years

St. Andrews

03/1021

10 January 1903

Rev. R. Macdeurie, Presbyterian

No	16
Date of Notice	10 January 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Nathaniel Charles Dale	Grace Wilson Risk
BDM Match (87%)	Nathaniel Charles Vale	Grace Wilson Frost
	💍 1903/3149
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Commercial Traveller
Age	27	26
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	27 years	26 years
Marriage Place	St. Andrews
Folio	03/1021
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 January 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. Macdeurie, Presbyterian

12 January 1903

Arthur Robert Brightmore
Emily Blythe Woodbrige

Arthur Robert Brightmore
Emily Blythe
💍 1903/1085

Bachelor
Spinster

Bricklayer

24
27

Linwood
Linwood

6 years
3 years

St. Albans

03/1057

12 January 1903

Rev. J. J. Orchard, Wesleyan

No	17
Date of Notice	12 January 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur Robert Brightmore	Emily Blythe Woodbrige
BDM Match (77%)	Arthur Robert Brightmore	Emily Blythe
	💍 1903/1085
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Bricklayer
Age	24	27
Dwelling Place	Linwood	Linwood
Length of Residence	6 years	3 years
Marriage Place	St. Albans
Folio	03/1057
Consent
Date of Certificate	12 January 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. J. Orchard, Wesleyan

13 January 1903

Walter Henry Tucker
Emily Isabel Grace Hayward

Walter Henry Tucker
Emily Isabel Mary Hayward
💍 1903/1743

Bachelor
Spinster

Cook

24
24

Sydenham
Sydenham

1 year
24 years

St. Albans

03/1082

13 January 1903

Captain E. Bishop, Salvationist

No	18
Date of Notice	13 January 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Walter Henry Tucker	Emily Isabel Grace Hayward
BDM Match (92%)	Walter Henry Tucker	Emily Isabel Mary Hayward
	💍 1903/1743
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Cook
Age	24	24
Dwelling Place	Sydenham	Sydenham
Length of Residence	1 year	24 years
Marriage Place	St. Albans
Folio	03/1082
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 January 1903
Officiating Minister	Captain E. Bishop, Salvationist

13 January 1903

Patrick Barrass
Annie Lawlor

Patrick Darragh
Annie Lawlor
💍 1903/977

Bachelor
Spinster

Seaman
Housemaid

31
28

Sydenham
Christchurch

12 days
28 years

St. Catherine's

03/1039

13 January 1903

Rev. J. A. O'Connell, Romanist

No	19
Date of Notice	13 January 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Patrick Barrass	Annie Lawlor
BDM Match (90%)	Patrick Darragh	Annie Lawlor
	💍 1903/977
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Seaman	Housemaid
Age	31	28
Dwelling Place	Sydenham	Christchurch
Length of Residence	12 days	28 years
Marriage Place	St. Catherine's
Folio	03/1039
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 January 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. A. O'Connell, Romanist

13 January 1903

John Charles Brehaut
Annie Maggie Jamieson

John Charles Brehaut
Annie Maggie Jamieson
💍 1903/971

Bachelor
Spinster

Engineer
Tailoress

22
22

Christchurch
Papanui

4 days
5 days

Home of Mr. Jamieson

03/1033

13 January 1903

Rev. C. Irvine, Presbyterian

No	20
Date of Notice	13 January 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Charles Brehaut	Annie Maggie Jamieson
	💍 1903/971
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engineer	Tailoress
Age	22	22
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Papanui
Length of Residence	4 days	5 days
Marriage Place	Home of Mr. Jamieson
Folio	03/1033
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 January 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. Irvine, Presbyterian

13 January 1903

Reginald Leadam Acton-Adams
Annie Dilworth

Reginald Larden Acton-Adams
Anne Dilworth
💍 1903/920

Bachelor
Spinster

Sheepfarmer

30
26

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 days
6 years

St. John's

03/995

13 January 1903

Rev. R. R. Woodthorpe, Anglican

No	21
Date of Notice	13 January 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Reginald Leadam Acton-Adams	Annie Dilworth
BDM Match (89%)	Reginald Larden Acton-Adams	Anne Dilworth
	💍 1903/920
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Sheepfarmer
Age	30	26
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 days	6 years
Marriage Place	St. John's
Folio	03/995
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 January 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. R. Woodthorpe, Anglican

13 January 1903

Matthew Humphry Irvine
Catherine Sweeney

Matthew Livingstone
Catherine Sweeney
💍 1903/1711

Bachelor
Spinster

Commission Agent

49
26

Christchurch
Christchurch

22 years
7 years

House of Dr. Irvine, Papanui Road

03/1017

13 January 1903

Rev. D. Irvine, Presbyterian

No	22
Date of Notice	13 January 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Matthew Humphry Irvine	Catherine Sweeney
BDM Match (73%)	Matthew Livingstone	Catherine Sweeney
	💍 1903/1711
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Commission Agent
Age	49	26
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	22 years	7 years
Marriage Place	House of Dr. Irvine, Papanui Road
Folio	03/1017
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 January 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. D. Irvine, Presbyterian

14 January 1903

John Septimus Hawkes
Marion Murray

John Saptimus Hawkes
Marion Murray
💍 1903/927

Bachelor
Spinster

Insurance Clerk

34
33

Christchurch
Christchurch

3 days
3 months

St. Michael's

03/980

14 January 1903

Rev. Canon Averill, Anglican

No	23
Date of Notice	14 January 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Septimus Hawkes	Marion Murray
BDM Match (98%)	John Saptimus Hawkes	Marion Murray
	💍 1903/927
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Insurance Clerk
Age	34	33
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	3 days	3 months
Marriage Place	St. Michael's
Folio	03/980
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 January 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. Canon Averill, 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).