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 254

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

24 January 1903

Harry Palairet Slater
Lelean Mona Hunt

Harry Patarick Slater
Lilian Mona Hunt
💍 1903/1719

Bachelor
Widow

Clerk

33
32

Armside
Armside

33 years
2 months

Trinity Church, Christchurch

03/1005

14 January 1903

R. C. A. Pascoe, Anglican

No	24
Date of Notice	24 January 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Harry Palairet Slater	Lelean Mona Hunt
BDM Match (82%)	Harry Patarick Slater	Lilian Mona Hunt
	💍 1903/1719
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Clerk
Age	33	32
Dwelling Place	Armside	Armside
Length of Residence	33 years	2 months
Marriage Place	Trinity Church, Christchurch
Folio	03/1005
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 January 1903
Officiating Minister	R. C. A. Pascoe, Anglican

25 January 1903

Albert John Barritt
Selina Hart

Albert John Banitt
Selina Hart
💍 1903/928

Bachelor
Spinster

Hairdresser
Domestic

22
23

Christchurch
Belfast

22 years
17 years

St. Michael's Church, Christchurch

03/981

14 January 1903

R. C. A. Overill, Anglican

No	25
Date of Notice	25 January 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Albert John Barritt	Selina Hart
BDM Match (95%)	Albert John Banitt	Selina Hart
	💍 1903/928
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Hairdresser	Domestic
Age	22	23
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Belfast
Length of Residence	22 years	17 years
Marriage Place	St. Michael's Church, Christchurch
Folio	03/981
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 January 1903
Officiating Minister	R. C. A. Overill, Anglican

26 January 1903

Michael George Biggs
Selina Horne

Michel George Biggs
Selina Moore
💍 1903/1667

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer

26
23

Papanui
St. Albans

14 years
23 years

Registrar's Office, Christchurch

03/918

14 January 1903

Registrar, Christchurch

No	26
Date of Notice	26 January 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Michael George Biggs	Selina Horne
BDM Match (85%)	Michel George Biggs	Selina Moore
	💍 1903/1667
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer
Age	26	23
Dwelling Place	Papanui	St. Albans
Length of Residence	14 years	23 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Christchurch
Folio	03/918
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 January 1903
Officiating Minister	Registrar, Christchurch

27 January 1903

Thomas Watt
Letitia Miranda Strange

Thomas Watt
Letitia Miranda Strange
💍 1903/941

Bachelor
Spinster

Trumpeter, Agent

30
29

Christchurch
St. Albans

30 years
29 years

St. Luke's Church, Christchurch

03/963

16 January 1903

Archdeacon Lingard, Anglican

No	27
Date of Notice	27 January 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Watt	Letitia Miranda Strange
	💍 1903/941
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Trumpeter, Agent
Age	30	29
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	St. Albans
Length of Residence	30 years	29 years
Marriage Place	St. Luke's Church, Christchurch
Folio	03/963
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 January 1903
Officiating Minister	Archdeacon Lingard, Anglican

28 January 1903

Edward Shaw
Ellen Matilda McKechnie

Edward Shaw
Ellen Matilda McMeekin
💍 1903/1080

Bachelor
Spinster

Master Mariner

26
25

Christchurch
Christchurch

2 months
5 years

Wesleyan Church, East Belt, Christchurch

03/1069

19 January 1903

R. C. H. Laws, Wesleyan

No	28
Date of Notice	28 January 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Shaw	Ellen Matilda McKechnie
BDM Match (89%)	Edward Shaw	Ellen Matilda McMeekin
	💍 1903/1080
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Master Mariner
Age	26	25
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	2 months	5 years
Marriage Place	Wesleyan Church, East Belt, Christchurch
Folio	03/1069
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 January 1903
Officiating Minister	R. C. H. Laws, Wesleyan

29 January 1903

James Chapman
Alice Simpson

Frank Chapman
Alice Simpson
💍 1903/1081

Bachelor
Spinster

Brewer, Maltster
White Worker

21
21

Christchurch
Christchurch

4 months
4 days

Registrar's Office, Barbadoes Street, Christchurch

03/1070

19 January 1903

R. C. H. Laws, Wesleyan

No	29
Date of Notice	29 January 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Chapman	Alice Simpson
BDM Match (81%)	Frank Chapman	Alice Simpson
	💍 1903/1081
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Brewer, Maltster	White Worker
Age	21	21
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	Christchurch
Length of Residence	4 months	4 days
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Barbadoes Street, Christchurch
Folio	03/1070
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 January 1903
Officiating Minister	R. C. H. Laws, Wesleyan

30 January 1903

Francis Edward Harris
Emily Boidge

Francis Edward Harris
Emily Doidge
💍 1903/1668

Bachelor
Spinster

Gardener

37
23

Richmond
Papanui

18 years
7 years

Registrar's Office, Christchurch

03/919

19 January 1903

Registrar, Christchurch

No	30
Date of Notice	30 January 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Francis Edward Harris	Emily Boidge
BDM Match (96%)	Francis Edward Harris	Emily Doidge
	💍 1903/1668
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Gardener
Age	37	23
Dwelling Place	Richmond	Papanui
Length of Residence	18 years	7 years
Marriage Place	Registrar's Office, Christchurch
Folio	03/919
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 January 1903
Officiating Minister	Registrar, Christchurch

31 January 1903

Robert Reid
Annie Bonnyman

Robert Reid
Annie Bonnyman
💍 1903/967

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

34
28

Christchurch
St. Albans

3 years
28 years

St. Mary's Church, Manchester Street, Christchurch

03/1046

19 January 1903

Robert Thomas, Roman Catholic

No	31
Date of Notice	31 January 1903
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Reid	Annie Bonnyman
	💍 1903/967
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	34	28
Dwelling Place	Christchurch	St. Albans
Length of Residence	3 years	28 years
Marriage Place	St. Mary's Church, Manchester Street, Christchurch
Folio	03/1046
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 January 1903
Officiating Minister	Robert Thomas, Roman Catholic

These records have been automatically transcribed and must be verified using the page image (below)

100% Contrast

100% Brightness

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).