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 663

District of Dunedin Quarter ending 30 September 1903

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

303

22 July 1903

Robert McBride
Matilda Bryson Thompson

Robert McBride
Matilda Bryson Thompson
💍 1903/4835

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

38
35

Dunedin
Dunedin

3 days
3 days

In the Knox Church Manse, Dunedin

03/4553

22 July 1903

Wm Hewitson

No	303
Date of Notice	22 July 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert McBride	Matilda Bryson Thompson
	💍 1903/4835
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	38	35
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 days	3 days
Marriage Place	In the Knox Church Manse, Dunedin
Folio	03/4553
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 July 1903
Officiating Minister	Wm Hewitson

304

24 July 1903

James Malcolm Fraser
Mary Croft

James Malcolm Fraser
Mary Croft
💍 1903/4675

Bachelor
Widow

Pattern Maker
Boardinghouse Keeper

32
31

Dunedin
Dunedin

18 months
2 months

In the office of the Registrar of Marriages, Dunedin

03/4499

24 July 1903

H. Maxwell, Registrar

No	304
Date of Notice	24 July 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Malcolm Fraser	Mary Croft
	💍 1903/4675
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Pattern Maker	Boardinghouse Keeper
Age	32	31
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	18 months	2 months
Marriage Place	In the office of the Registrar of Marriages, Dunedin
Folio	03/4499
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 July 1903
Officiating Minister	H. Maxwell, Registrar

305

24 July 1903

William Hugh Black
Elizabeth Jacques Blackie

William Hugh Black
Elizabeth Lily Jacques Blackie
💍 1903/4827

Widower
Spinster

Factory Manager
Milliner

29
25

South Dunedin
South Dunedin

3 days
13 years

In the house of Mrs. Dorothy Blackie, Hillside Road, South Dunedin

03/4564

24 July 1903

R. Mackie

No	305
Date of Notice	24 July 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Hugh Black	Elizabeth Jacques Blackie
BDM Match (92%)	William Hugh Black	Elizabeth Lily Jacques Blackie
	💍 1903/4827
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Factory Manager	Milliner
Age	29	25
Dwelling Place	South Dunedin	South Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 days	13 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Mrs. Dorothy Blackie, Hillside Road, South Dunedin
Folio	03/4564
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 July 1903
Officiating Minister	R. Mackie

306

24 July 1903

Herbert Whyte
Alice Hannah Cook

Herbert Whyte
Alice Hannah Cook
💍 1903/4855

Bachelor
Spinster

Brass Finisher

29
26

Dunedin
Dunedin

13 years
26 years

In the house of the Rev. W. A. Sinclair, Fernhill Street, Dunedin

03/4597

24 July 1903

W. A. Sinclair

No	306
Date of Notice	24 July 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Herbert Whyte	Alice Hannah Cook
	💍 1903/4855
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Brass Finisher
Age	29	26
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	13 years	26 years
Marriage Place	In the house of the Rev. W. A. Sinclair, Fernhill Street, Dunedin
Folio	03/4597
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 July 1903
Officiating Minister	W. A. Sinclair

307

27 July 1903

Edward Robert Simpson
Hannah Newbold Barnett

Edward Robert Simpson
Hannah Newbold Barnett
💍 1903/4828

Bachelor
Spinster

Dredge Hand
Dressmaker

30
33

Dunedin
South Dunedin

3 days
8 years

In the house of Mr. Thomas Barnett, Main Road, South Dunedin

03/4565

27 July 1903

R. Mackie

No	307
Date of Notice	27 July 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Robert Simpson	Hannah Newbold Barnett
	💍 1903/4828
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Dredge Hand	Dressmaker
Age	30	33
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	South Dunedin
Length of Residence	3 days	8 years
Marriage Place	In the house of Mr. Thomas Barnett, Main Road, South Dunedin
Folio	03/4565
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 July 1903
Officiating Minister	R. Mackie

308

27 July 1903

John James Ronaldson
Mary Christina Dunne

John James Ronaldson
Mary Christina Dunne
💍 1903/4603

Bachelor
Spinster

Merchant

38
33

Dunedin
Dunedin

22 years
24 years

In All Saints Church, Dunedin

03/4571

27 July 1903

Wm Ronaldson

No	308
Date of Notice	27 July 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John James Ronaldson	Mary Christina Dunne
	💍 1903/4603
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Merchant
Age	38	33
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	22 years	24 years
Marriage Place	In All Saints Church, Dunedin
Folio	03/4571
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 July 1903
Officiating Minister	Wm Ronaldson

309

27 July 1903

Arthur Dawson
Margaret Halkett

Arthur Dawson
Margaret Halkett
💍 1903/4676

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer

27
21

Dunedin
Dunedin

6 days
6 days

In the office of the Registrar of Marriages, Dunedin

03/4500

27 July 1903

H. Maxwell

No	309
Date of Notice	27 July 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur Dawson	Margaret Halkett
	💍 1903/4676
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer
Age	27	21
Dwelling Place	Dunedin	Dunedin
Length of Residence	6 days	6 days
Marriage Place	In the office of the Registrar of Marriages, Dunedin
Folio	03/4500
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 July 1903
Officiating Minister	H. Maxwell

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).