Intentions to Marry, 1904 South Island

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840426, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

Imaged by Carole at Archives NZ Wellington, October 13 2025.

1904 is bound in two volumes, North Island districts and South Island districts.

Page 991

District of Riverton Quarter ending 30 June 1904 Registrar Arthur Frederick Bens

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

668

6 April 1904

George Gordon Burnes
Anna Mary McCulloch

George Gordon Burnes
Anna Mary McCulloch
💍 1904/2521

Bachelor
Spinster

District Secretary Insurance Co.
Domestic Duties

37
39

late of Invercargill now of Riverton
late of Gladstone now of Riverton

4 days
4 days

Mr. Young's house at South Riverton

04/3656

6 April 1904

Rev. A. W. Beavers

No	668
Date of Notice	6 April 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Gordon Burnes	Anna Mary McCulloch
	💍 1904/2521
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	District Secretary Insurance Co.	Domestic Duties
Age	37	39
Dwelling Place	late of Invercargill now of Riverton	late of Gladstone now of Riverton
Length of Residence	4 days	4 days
Marriage Place	Mr. Young's house at South Riverton
Folio	04/3656
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 April 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. W. Beavers

669

10 May 1904

Michael Howling
Margaret Burke

Michael Dowling
Margaret Burke
💍 1904/2435

Michael Calvey
Margaret Burke
💍 1904/6817

Bachelor
Spinster

Tally Clerk
Domestic Duties

27
19

late of Orepuki, for last 3 days of Waimatuku
Waimatuku

6 months in Orepuki
19 years

Catholic Church, Riverton

04/3538

Thomas Burke, Father of Bride

10 May 1904

Rev. John Sheehan

No	669
Date of Notice	10 May 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Michael Howling	Margaret Burke
BDM Match (97%)	Michael Dowling	Margaret Burke
	💍 1904/2435
BDM Match (80%)	Michael Calvey	Margaret Burke
	💍 1904/6817
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Tally Clerk	Domestic Duties
Age	27	19
Dwelling Place	late of Orepuki, for last 3 days of Waimatuku	Waimatuku
Length of Residence	6 months in Orepuki	19 years
Marriage Place	Catholic Church, Riverton
Folio	04/3538
Consent	Thomas Burke, Father of Bride
Date of Certificate	10 May 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. John Sheehan

670

18 May 1904

George Stevens
Esther Hughes

George Stevens
Esther Hughes
💍 1904/2414

Widower
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic Duties

40
25

Otautau Bush
Riverton

40 years
3 years

Courthouse, Riverton

04/3534

18 May 1904

Registrar of Marriages, Riverton

No	670
Date of Notice	18 May 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Stevens	Esther Hughes
	💍 1904/2414
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic Duties
Age	40	25
Dwelling Place	Otautau Bush	Riverton
Length of Residence	40 years	3 years
Marriage Place	Courthouse, Riverton
Folio	04/3534
Consent
Date of Certificate	18 May 1904
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages, Riverton

671

30 May 1904

Arthur Heyward Evans
Jessie Ellen Sutton

Arthur Heyward Evans
Jessie Ellen Sutton
💍 1904/6845

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic Duties

29
31

Thornbury
Thornbury

6 weeks
12 years

Anglican Church, Thornbury

04/3657

30 May 1904

Rev. Harry Staker, Invercargill

No	671
Date of Notice	30 May 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur Heyward Evans	Jessie Ellen Sutton
	💍 1904/6845
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic Duties
Age	29	31
Dwelling Place	Thornbury	Thornbury
Length of Residence	6 weeks	12 years
Marriage Place	Anglican Church, Thornbury
Folio	04/3657
Consent
Date of Certificate	30 May 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. Harry Staker, Invercargill

672

1 June 1904

Fenwick Charles Grenfell
Rose Helen Clode

Fenwick Charles Grenfell
Rose Hellen Clode
💍 1904/2422

Bachelor
Spinster

Sawmill-hand
Domestic Duties

22
22

Colac Bay
Colac Bay

5 years
15 years

Presbyterian Church at Colac Bay

04/3535

1 June 1904

Rev. Robert McCully

No	672
Date of Notice	1 June 1904
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Fenwick Charles Grenfell	Rose Helen Clode
BDM Match (97%)	Fenwick Charles Grenfell	Rose Hellen Clode
	💍 1904/2422
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Sawmill-hand	Domestic Duties
Age	22	22
Dwelling Place	Colac Bay	Colac Bay
Length of Residence	5 years	15 years
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church at Colac Bay
Folio	04/3535
Consent
Date of Certificate	1 June 1904
Officiating Minister	Rev. Robert McCully

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).