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 800

District of INVERCARGILL Quarter ending 31 March 1903 Registrar John Gaumon Petrie

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

25 February 1903

Alexr. de V. Pyper
Agnes May Scott

Alexander Pyper
Agnes May Scott
💍 1903/1819

Divorcée
Spinster

Land Valuer & M.H.R.
Domestic

59
24

Richmond Grove, INVERCARGILL
Richmond Grove, INVERCARGILL

3 years
5 years

Office of the Registrar of Marriages, INVERCARGILL

03/1330

25 February 1903

Registrar of Marriages, INVERCARGILL

No	29
Date of Notice	25 February 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alexr. de V. Pyper	Agnes May Scott
BDM Match (83%)	Alexander Pyper	Agnes May Scott
	💍 1903/1819
Condition	Divorcée	Spinster
Profession	Land Valuer & M.H.R.	Domestic
Age	59	24
Dwelling Place	Richmond Grove, INVERCARGILL	Richmond Grove, INVERCARGILL
Length of Residence	3 years	5 years
Marriage Place	Office of the Registrar of Marriages, INVERCARGILL
Folio	03/1330
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 February 1903
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages, INVERCARGILL

25 February 1903

John Charles Theyes
Alice Maude Harper

John Charles Henry Harpur
Alice Maude Hayes
💍 1903/1820

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

20
22

Woodend, INVERCARGILL
Woodend, INVERCARGILL

3 years
8 months

Office of the Registrar of Marriages, INVERCARGILL

03/1331

William Harper, Father

25 February 1903

Registrar of Marriages, INVERCARGILL

No	30
Date of Notice	25 February 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Charles Theyes	Alice Maude Harper
BDM Match (70%)	John Charles Henry Harpur	Alice Maude Hayes
	💍 1903/1820
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	20	22
Dwelling Place	Woodend, INVERCARGILL	Woodend, INVERCARGILL
Length of Residence	3 years	8 months
Marriage Place	Office of the Registrar of Marriages, INVERCARGILL
Folio	03/1331
Consent	William Harper, Father
Date of Certificate	25 February 1903
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages, INVERCARGILL

25 February 1903

William Henry O'Hanlon
Emily Sarah Constable

William Henry O'Hanlon
Sarah Emily Constable
💍 1903/1821

Bachelor
Spinster

Painter
Domestic

26
26

Appleby, INVERCARGILL
Appleby, INVERCARGILL

18 months
26 years

Roman Catholic Presbytery, INVERCARGILL

See 32

25 February 1903

The Very Rev. Dean Burke

No	31
Date of Notice	25 February 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Henry O'Hanlon	Emily Sarah Constable
BDM Match (76%)	William Henry O'Hanlon	Sarah Emily Constable
	💍 1903/1821
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Painter	Domestic
Age	26	26
Dwelling Place	Appleby, INVERCARGILL	Appleby, INVERCARGILL
Length of Residence	18 months	26 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Presbytery, INVERCARGILL
Folio	See 32
Consent
Date of Certificate	25 February 1903
Officiating Minister	The Very Rev. Dean Burke

26 February 1903

William Henry O'Hanlon
Sarah Emily Constable (nee Muller)

William Henry O'Hanlon
Sarah Emily Constable
💍 1903/1821

Bachelor
Widow

Painter
Domestic

26
26

Appleby, INVERCARGILL
Appleby, INVERCARGILL

18 months
26 years

Office of the Registrar of Marriages, INVERCARGILL

03/1332

26 February 1903

Registrar of Marriages, INVERCARGILL

No	32
Date of Notice	26 February 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Henry O'Hanlon	Sarah Emily Constable (nee Muller)
BDM Match (81%)	William Henry O'Hanlon	Sarah Emily Constable
	💍 1903/1821
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Painter	Domestic
Age	26	26
Dwelling Place	Appleby, INVERCARGILL	Appleby, INVERCARGILL
Length of Residence	18 months	26 years
Marriage Place	Office of the Registrar of Marriages, INVERCARGILL
Folio	03/1332
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 February 1903
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages, INVERCARGILL

26 February 1903

Charles Henry Cunningham
Alice Maud Morton

Charles Henry Cunningham
Alice Maud Winton
💍 1903/1860

Bachelor
Spinster

Sailmaker
Domestic

22
23

Leet Street, INVERCARGILL
Yarrow St, INVERCARGILL

18 years
23 years

English Church, Tay Street, INVERCARGILL

03/1348

26 February 1903

Ven. Archdn. Stocker

No	33
Date of Notice	26 February 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Henry Cunningham	Alice Maud Morton
BDM Match (91%)	Charles Henry Cunningham	Alice Maud Winton
	💍 1903/1860
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Sailmaker	Domestic
Age	22	23
Dwelling Place	Leet Street, INVERCARGILL	Yarrow St, INVERCARGILL
Length of Residence	18 years	23 years
Marriage Place	English Church, Tay Street, INVERCARGILL
Folio	03/1348
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 February 1903
Officiating Minister	Ven. Archdn. Stocker

5 March 1903

Daniel Kingsland
Myra Blanche Bastings

Daniel Kingsland
Myra Blanche Bestings
💍 1903/1861

Bachelor
Spinster

Commercial traveller
Domestic duties

26
19

Don Street, INVERCARGILL
Don Street, INVERCARGILL

26 years
2 years

English Church, Tay Street, INVERCARGILL

03/1349

Edwin Bastings, Father

5 March 1903

Ven. Archdn. Stocker

No	34
Date of Notice	5 March 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Daniel Kingsland	Myra Blanche Bastings
BDM Match (98%)	Daniel Kingsland	Myra Blanche Bestings
	💍 1903/1861
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Commercial traveller	Domestic duties
Age	26	19
Dwelling Place	Don Street, INVERCARGILL	Don Street, INVERCARGILL
Length of Residence	26 years	2 years
Marriage Place	English Church, Tay Street, INVERCARGILL
Folio	03/1349
Consent	Edwin Bastings, Father
Date of Certificate	5 March 1903
Officiating Minister	Ven. Archdn. Stocker

9 March 1903

Walter Bishop Gunn
Martha Rennie

Walter Hislop Gunn
Martha Reinke
💍 1903/1864

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

31
20

Georgetown, INVERCARGILL
Georgetown, INVERCARGILL

5 days
5 days

Presbyterian Church, Tay Street, INVERCARGILL

03/1353

William Rennie, Father

9 March 1903

Rev. J. Gibson Smith

No	35
Date of Notice	9 March 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Walter Bishop Gunn	Martha Rennie
BDM Match (87%)	Walter Hislop Gunn	Martha Reinke
	💍 1903/1864
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	31	20
Dwelling Place	Georgetown, INVERCARGILL	Georgetown, INVERCARGILL
Length of Residence	5 days	5 days
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church, Tay Street, INVERCARGILL
Folio	03/1353
Consent	William Rennie, Father
Date of Certificate	9 March 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. Gibson Smith

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).