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 802

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

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

18 March 1903

William Roberton Haliburton
Elizabeth Harvey

William Robertson Halliburton
Elizabeth Harvey
💍 1903/1831

Bachelor
Spinster

Fireman By Railways
Domestic

27
22

Clyde Street, INVERCARGILL
Clyde Street, INVERCARGILL

7 days
22 years

Residence of James Harvey, Clyde Street, INVERCARGILL

03/1341

18 March 1903

Rev Geo Lindsay

No	43
Date of Notice	18 March 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Roberton Haliburton	Elizabeth Harvey
BDM Match (97%)	William Robertson Halliburton	Elizabeth Harvey
	💍 1903/1831
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Fireman By Railways	Domestic
Age	27	22
Dwelling Place	Clyde Street, INVERCARGILL	Clyde Street, INVERCARGILL
Length of Residence	7 days	22 years
Marriage Place	Residence of James Harvey, Clyde Street, INVERCARGILL
Folio	03/1341
Consent
Date of Certificate	18 March 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev Geo Lindsay

18 March 1903

William Nelson Wakeling
Florence Kate Norris

William Nelson Wakeling
Florance Kate Norris
💍 1903/3828

Bachelor
Spinster

Signalman N.Z.G.R.
Domestic

26
26

Clyde Street, INVERCARGILL
Ryal Bush, INVERCARGILL

11 months
6 days

English Church, Ryal Bush, INVERCARGILL

03/3170

18 March 1903

Rev W. G. Wood

No	44
Date of Notice	18 March 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Nelson Wakeling	Florence Kate Norris
BDM Match (98%)	William Nelson Wakeling	Florance Kate Norris
	💍 1903/3828
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Signalman N.Z.G.R.	Domestic
Age	26	26
Dwelling Place	Clyde Street, INVERCARGILL	Ryal Bush, INVERCARGILL
Length of Residence	11 months	6 days
Marriage Place	English Church, Ryal Bush, INVERCARGILL
Folio	03/3170
Consent
Date of Certificate	18 March 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev W. G. Wood

20 March 1903

William McKay Elder
Helen Jane Paterson

William McKay Elder
Helen Jane Paterson
💍 1903/1859

Bachelor
Spinster

Commercial Traveller
Domestic

33
24

Yarrow Street, INVERCARGILL
Wrights Bush, INVERCARGILL

1 year
3 months

Residence of Mr Alexander McLean, Wrights Bush, INVERCARGILL

03/1370

20 March 1903

Rev William H Brown

No	45
Date of Notice	20 March 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William McKay Elder	Helen Jane Paterson
	💍 1903/1859
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Commercial Traveller	Domestic
Age	33	24
Dwelling Place	Yarrow Street, INVERCARGILL	Wrights Bush, INVERCARGILL
Length of Residence	1 year	3 months
Marriage Place	Residence of Mr Alexander McLean, Wrights Bush, INVERCARGILL
Folio	03/1370
Consent
Date of Certificate	20 March 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev William H Brown

21 March 1903

James Brownlie
Bella Dingwall (nee Ayling)

James Brownlie
Stella Dingwall
💍 1903/1858

Bachelor
Widow

Labourer
Domestic

39
41

Tweed Street, INVERCARGILL
Ythan Street, INVERCARGILL

6 days
10 years

Residence of Bella Dingwall, Ythan Street, INVERCARGILL

03/1369

21 March 1903

Rev Richard Hall

No	46
Date of Notice	21 March 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Brownlie	Bella Dingwall (nee Ayling)
BDM Match (72%)	James Brownlie	Stella Dingwall
	💍 1903/1858
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	39	41
Dwelling Place	Tweed Street, INVERCARGILL	Ythan Street, INVERCARGILL
Length of Residence	6 days	10 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Bella Dingwall, Ythan Street, INVERCARGILL
Folio	03/1369
Consent
Date of Certificate	21 March 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev Richard Hall

21 March 1903

William John Gray
Annabella Ronald

William John May
Annie Reid Ronald
💍 1903/1849

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic

35
29

Winton, Southland
Waianiwa, INVERCARGILL

35 years
29 years

Residence of William Ronald, Waianiwa, INVERCARGILL

03/1361

21 March 1903

Rev William White

No	47
Date of Notice	21 March 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William John Gray	Annabella Ronald
BDM Match (74%)	William John May	Annie Reid Ronald
	💍 1903/1849
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic
Age	35	29
Dwelling Place	Winton, Southland	Waianiwa, INVERCARGILL
Length of Residence	35 years	29 years
Marriage Place	Residence of William Ronald, Waianiwa, INVERCARGILL
Folio	03/1361
Consent
Date of Certificate	21 March 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev William White

21 March 1903

Alexander McFarlane
Eleanor Susan Ryan

Alexander McFarlane
Eleanor Susan Ryan
💍 1903/1822

Bachelor
Spinster

Butcher
Domestic

36
22

Esk Street, INVERCARGILL
Georgetown, INVERCARGILL

25 years
22 years

Office of the Registrar of Marriages, INVERCARGILL

03/1333

21 March 1903

Registrar of Marriages, INVERCARGILL

No	48
Date of Notice	21 March 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alexander McFarlane	Eleanor Susan Ryan
	💍 1903/1822
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Butcher	Domestic
Age	36	22
Dwelling Place	Esk Street, INVERCARGILL	Georgetown, INVERCARGILL
Length of Residence	25 years	22 years
Marriage Place	Office of the Registrar of Marriages, INVERCARGILL
Folio	03/1333
Consent
Date of Certificate	21 March 1903
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages, INVERCARGILL

24 March 1903

David Fraser
Louisa Ethel Trewern

Daniel Fraser
Louisa Ethel Treweek
💍 1903/1832

Bachelor
Spinster

Iron Moulder
Domestic

21
20

Young St. South, INVERCARGILL
McMaster St. East, INVERCARGILL

18 years
15 months

Residence of Frederick Trewern, McMaster Street East, INVERCARGILL

03/1342

Frederick Trewern - Father

24 March 1903

Rev Geo Lindsay

No	49
Date of Notice	24 March 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	David Fraser	Louisa Ethel Trewern
BDM Match (83%)	Daniel Fraser	Louisa Ethel Treweek
	💍 1903/1832
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Iron Moulder	Domestic
Age	21	20
Dwelling Place	Young St. South, INVERCARGILL	McMaster St. East, INVERCARGILL
Length of Residence	18 years	15 months
Marriage Place	Residence of Frederick Trewern, McMaster Street East, INVERCARGILL
Folio	03/1342
Consent	Frederick Trewern - Father
Date of Certificate	24 March 1903
Officiating Minister	Rev Geo Lindsay

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).