Intentions to Marry, 1910 Wellington, Marlborough, Nelson, Westland

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840443, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

1910 is bound in three volumes - Auckland, Taranaki (1910a), Wellington, , Hawke's Bay, Nelson, Westland (1910b), and Canterbury, Otago, Chatham Islands (1910c).

Page 225

District of Halcombe Quarter ending 31 March 1910 Registrar Theresa Staile Deputy Registrar

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

4 January 1910

Walter Lionel Birchley
Eva Mary Florence Palenski

Walter Lionel Birchley
Eda Mary Florence Palenski
💍 1910/815

Bachelor
Spinster

Driver
Domestic Duties

29
22

Halcombe
Halcombe

4 Days
22 years

At the Residence of W. Arnold Palenski, Halcombe

10/742

4 January 1910

Rev. Edward Walker, Presbyterian Minister

No	1
Date of Notice	4 January 1910
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Walter Lionel Birchley	Eva Mary Florence Palenski
BDM Match (98%)	Walter Lionel Birchley	Eda Mary Florence Palenski
	💍 1910/815
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Driver	Domestic Duties
Age	29	22
Dwelling Place	Halcombe	Halcombe
Length of Residence	4 Days	22 years
Marriage Place	At the Residence of W. Arnold Palenski, Halcombe
Folio	10/742
Consent
Date of Certificate	4 January 1910
Officiating Minister	Rev. Edward Walker, Presbyterian Minister

10 January 1910

Arthur Marshall
Charlotte Elizabeth Miles

Arthur Marshall
Charlotte Elizabeth Miles
💍 1910/800

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic Duties

30
29

Halcombe
Halcombe

30 years
7 days

St. Michael's Church of England, Stannaway Road, Halcombe

10/728

18 January 1910

Rev. Innis Jones, Church of England Minister

No	2
Date of Notice	10 January 1910
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur Marshall	Charlotte Elizabeth Miles
	💍 1910/800
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic Duties
Age	30	29
Dwelling Place	Halcombe	Halcombe
Length of Residence	30 years	7 days
Marriage Place	St. Michael's Church of England, Stannaway Road, Halcombe
Folio	10/728
Consent
Date of Certificate	18 January 1910
Officiating Minister	Rev. Innis Jones, Church of England Minister

1 February 1910

Percy Baird Smith
Mary Green

Percy Baird Smith
Mary Green
💍 1910/5569

Bachelor
Spinster

Foreman Stone Quarry
Domestic Duties

27
28

Halcombe
Halcombe

3 days
26 years

At the Residence of Mr. Green, Stannaway Road, Halcombe

10/768

1 February 1910

Rev. Father O'Meara, Catholic Minister

No	3
Date of Notice	1 February 1910
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Percy Baird Smith	Mary Green
	💍 1910/5569
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Foreman Stone Quarry	Domestic Duties
Age	27	28
Dwelling Place	Halcombe	Halcombe
Length of Residence	3 days	26 years
Marriage Place	At the Residence of Mr. Green, Stannaway Road, Halcombe
Folio	10/768
Consent
Date of Certificate	1 February 1910
Officiating Minister	Rev. Father O'Meara, Catholic Minister

11 February 1910

James Paterson Morrison
Margaret Annie McLennan

James Paterson Morrison
Margaret Annie McLennan
💍 1910/701

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic Duties

22
26

Halcombe
Halcombe

4 years
24 years

Presbyterian Church, Halcombe

10/743

11 February 1910

Rev. Edward Walker

No	4
Date of Notice	11 February 1910
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Paterson Morrison	Margaret Annie McLennan
	💍 1910/701
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic Duties
Age	22	26
Dwelling Place	Halcombe	Halcombe
Length of Residence	4 years	24 years
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church, Halcombe
Folio	10/743
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 February 1910
Officiating Minister	Rev. Edward Walker

1 March 1910

John Miller Quarrie
Constance Mary Morrison

John Miller Quarrie
Constance Mary Morrison
💍 1910/712

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic Duties

30
20

Halcombe
Halcombe

30 years
4 years

At the Residence of Mr. John Morrison, Tokorangi, Halcombe

10/744

John Morrison, father of bride

1 March 1910

Rev. Edward Walker

No	5
Date of Notice	1 March 1910
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Miller Quarrie	Constance Mary Morrison
	💍 1910/712
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic Duties
Age	30	20
Dwelling Place	Halcombe	Halcombe
Length of Residence	30 years	4 years
Marriage Place	At the Residence of Mr. John Morrison, Tokorangi, Halcombe
Folio	10/744
Consent	John Morrison, father of bride
Date of Certificate	1 March 1910
Officiating Minister	Rev. Edward Walker

13 March 1910

Alfred Bradley
Elizabeth Ellen Managh

Wilfred Bradley
Elizabeth Ellen Managh
💍 1910/719

Bachelor
Spinster

Saddler
Domestic Duties

25
27

Halcombe
Halcombe

3 days
27 years

At the Residence of Mr. Managh, Halcombe

10/746

15 March 1910

Rev. James Close, Methodist Minister

No	6
Date of Notice	13 March 1910
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alfred Bradley	Elizabeth Ellen Managh
BDM Match (93%)	Wilfred Bradley	Elizabeth Ellen Managh
	💍 1910/719
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Saddler	Domestic Duties
Age	25	27
Dwelling Place	Halcombe	Halcombe
Length of Residence	3 days	27 years
Marriage Place	At the Residence of Mr. Managh, Halcombe
Folio	10/746
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 March 1910
Officiating Minister	Rev. James Close, Methodist Minister

28 March 1910

Donald Alexander Dickson
Eliza Helen Nielsen

Donald Alexander Dickson
Elvira Helena Nielson
💍 1910/718

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic Duties

24
28

Halcombe
Halcombe

5 days
28 years

At the Residence of Mr. Nielsen, Stannaway Road, Halcombe

10/745

15 March 1910

Rev. Edward Walker

No	7
Date of Notice	28 March 1910
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Donald Alexander Dickson	Eliza Helen Nielsen
BDM Match (91%)	Donald Alexander Dickson	Elvira Helena Nielson
	💍 1910/718
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic Duties
Age	24	28
Dwelling Place	Halcombe	Halcombe
Length of Residence	5 days	28 years
Marriage Place	At the Residence of Mr. Nielsen, Stannaway Road, Halcombe
Folio	10/745
Consent
Date of Certificate	15 March 1910
Officiating Minister	Rev. Edward Walker

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 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).