Intentions to Marry, 1908 Canterbury, Otago, Chatham Islands

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840438, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

1908 is bound in three volumes - Auckland, Taranaki, Hawke's Bay (1908a), Wellington, Marlborough, Nelson, Westland (1908b), and Canterbury, Otago, Chatham Islands (1908c).

Page 572

District of Invercargill Quarter ending 31 March 1908

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

5 February 1908

Robert M. Milne
Mabel Susan Wellbrock

Robert Milne
Mabel Susan Wellbrock
💍 1908/5539

Bachelor
Spinster

Miner
Domestic

24
23

Dee Street, Invercargill
Richmond Grove, Invercargill

3 days
3 years

Residence of Martin Wellbrock, Richmond Grove, Invercargill

08/4077

5 February 1908

Rev. A. Mitchell

No	18
Date of Notice	5 February 1908
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert M. Milne	Mabel Susan Wellbrock
BDM Match (90%)	Robert Milne	Mabel Susan Wellbrock
	💍 1908/5539
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Miner	Domestic
Age	24	23
Dwelling Place	Dee Street, Invercargill	Richmond Grove, Invercargill
Length of Residence	3 days	3 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Martin Wellbrock, Richmond Grove, Invercargill
Folio	08/4077
Consent
Date of Certificate	5 February 1908
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Mitchell

6 February 1908

George McNamara
Theresa Gertrude Connor

George McNamara
Teresa Gertrude Connor
💍 1908/3978

Bachelor
Spinster

Postal Clerk
Domestic

26
24

Mary Street East, Invercargill
Riverton, Wallace

26 years
1 year

Roman Catholic Church, Riverton

08/1816

6 February 1908

Rev. P. Murphy

No	19
Date of Notice	6 February 1908
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George McNamara	Theresa Gertrude Connor
BDM Match (98%)	George McNamara	Teresa Gertrude Connor
	💍 1908/3978
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Postal Clerk	Domestic
Age	26	24
Dwelling Place	Mary Street East, Invercargill	Riverton, Wallace
Length of Residence	26 years	1 year
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Riverton
Folio	08/1816
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 February 1908
Officiating Minister	Rev. P. Murphy

6 February 1908

Walter Charles Donovan
Henrietta Maude Fretwell

Walter Charles Donovan
Henrietta Maude Fretwell
💍 1908/1727

Bachelor
Spinster

Railway Fireman
Domestic

25
22

Teviot Street, Invercargill
Ettrick Street, Invercargill

2 months
7 months

Church of Christ, Beaumont Street, Invercargill

08/1764

6 February 1908

Mr. W. D. Little

No	20
Date of Notice	6 February 1908
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Walter Charles Donovan	Henrietta Maude Fretwell
	💍 1908/1727
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Railway Fireman	Domestic
Age	25	22
Dwelling Place	Teviot Street, Invercargill	Ettrick Street, Invercargill
Length of Residence	2 months	7 months
Marriage Place	Church of Christ, Beaumont Street, Invercargill
Folio	08/1764
Consent
Date of Certificate	6 February 1908
Officiating Minister	Mr. W. D. Little

8 February 1908

Percival Ashton Royds
Ellen Christina Henderson

Percival Ashton Royds
Ellen Christina Henderson
💍 1908/1695

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk
Domestic

29
34

Waikivi, Invercargill
Clyde Street, Invercargill

29 years
34 years

Residence of Clara Jane Henderson, Clyde Street, Invercargill

08/1754

8 February 1908

Rev. F. W. Dunlop

No	21
Date of Notice	8 February 1908
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Percival Ashton Royds	Ellen Christina Henderson
	💍 1908/1695
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk	Domestic
Age	29	34
Dwelling Place	Waikivi, Invercargill	Clyde Street, Invercargill
Length of Residence	29 years	34 years
Marriage Place	Residence of Clara Jane Henderson, Clyde Street, Invercargill
Folio	08/1754
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 February 1908
Officiating Minister	Rev. F. W. Dunlop

8 February 1908

Edward Moyles
Mary Pumphrey

Edward Moyles
Mary Pumphrey
💍 1908/1688

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

27
21

Grasmere, Invercargill
Mahakarewa, Invercargill

3 years
3 months

Residence of James Baird, Grey Street, Invercargill

08/1746

8 February 1908

Rev. James Baird

No	22
Date of Notice	8 February 1908
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Moyles	Mary Pumphrey
	💍 1908/1688
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	27	21
Dwelling Place	Grasmere, Invercargill	Mahakarewa, Invercargill
Length of Residence	3 years	3 months
Marriage Place	Residence of James Baird, Grey Street, Invercargill
Folio	08/1746
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 February 1908
Officiating Minister	Rev. James Baird

11 February 1908

Henry McSherry
Mary Hishon

Henry McSherry
Mary Hishon
💍 1908/5534

Bachelor
Spinster

Barrister & Solicitor
Household Duties

36
35

Dee Street, Invercargill
Eye Street, Invercargill

3 days
35 years

Roman Catholic Church, Tyne Street, Invercargill

08/4072

11 February 1908

Rev. Jas. O'Malley

No	23
Date of Notice	11 February 1908
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry McSherry	Mary Hishon
	💍 1908/5534
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Barrister & Solicitor	Household Duties
Age	36	35
Dwelling Place	Dee Street, Invercargill	Eye Street, Invercargill
Length of Residence	3 days	35 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Tyne Street, Invercargill
Folio	08/4072
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 February 1908
Officiating Minister	Rev. Jas. O'Malley

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 1908. 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).