Intentions to Marry, 1911 Hawke's Bay, Wellington, Marlborough, Nelson, Westland

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840446, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

1911 is bound in three volumes - Auckland, Taranaki, (1911a), Hawke's Bay, Wellington, Marlborough, Nelson, Westland (1911b), and Canterbury, Otago, Chatham Islands (1911c).

Page 820

District of Motueka Quarter ending 31 March 1911 Registrar William McInnes 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

117

3 January 1911

Edward Maddison
Edith Irene Rowling

Edward Maddison
Edith Irene Rowling
💍 1911/2043

Bachelor
Spinster

Postal Cadet
Dress maker

20
19

Motueka
Ruwaka

2 1/2 years
19 years

John Rowling House, Riwaka

11/1547

William Maddison, father; John Rowling, father

3 January 1911

Walter Wortly French

No	117
Date of Notice	3 January 1911
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Maddison	Edith Irene Rowling
	💍 1911/2043
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Postal Cadet	Dress maker
Age	20	19
Dwelling Place	Motueka	Ruwaka
Length of Residence	2 1/2 years	19 years
Marriage Place	John Rowling House, Riwaka
Folio	11/1547
Consent	William Maddison, father; John Rowling, father
Date of Certificate	3 January 1911
Officiating Minister	Walter Wortly French

118

16 January 1911

Hermann William Oppatt
Elsie Inglis

Herrman William Oppatt
Elsie Inglis
💍 1911/1954

Bachelor
Spinster

Builder
Household Duties

26
28

Motueka
Riwaka

14 days
6 months

Mr. Thos Inglis House, Riwaka

11/1506

26 January 1911

Walter Wortly French

No	118
Date of Notice	16 January 1911
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Hermann William Oppatt	Elsie Inglis
BDM Match (95%)	Herrman William Oppatt	Elsie Inglis
	💍 1911/1954
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Builder	Household Duties
Age	26	28
Dwelling Place	Motueka	Riwaka
Length of Residence	14 days	6 months
Marriage Place	Mr. Thos Inglis House, Riwaka
Folio	11/1506
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 January 1911
Officiating Minister	Walter Wortly French

119

26 January 1911

Pairama Wilson
Pokipoki Riwai

Paerama Wilson
Pokipoki Riwai
💍 1911/1962

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Household Duties

22
17

Motueka
Motueka

2 months
11 years

St. Thomas' Church, Motueka

11/1513

Kariure Riwai, father

26 January 1911

Rev. Archdeacon Grace, ceremony performed by Rev. J. Vosper

No	119
Date of Notice	26 January 1911
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Pairama Wilson	Pokipoki Riwai
BDM Match (96%)	Paerama Wilson	Pokipoki Riwai
	💍 1911/1962
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Household Duties
Age	22	17
Dwelling Place	Motueka	Motueka
Length of Residence	2 months	11 years
Marriage Place	St. Thomas' Church, Motueka
Folio	11/1513
Consent	Kariure Riwai, father
Date of Certificate	26 January 1911
Officiating Minister	Rev. Archdeacon Grace, ceremony performed by Rev. J. Vosper

120

9 February 1911

Frederick Henry Clark
Eliza Ann Fry

Frederick Henry Clark
Eliza Ann Fry
💍 1911/1951

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic Duties

32
29

Riwaka
Riwaka

2 years
29 years

House of Mr. Edward Fry, Riwaka

11/1503

9 February 1911

Walter Wortly French

No	120
Date of Notice	9 February 1911
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick Henry Clark	Eliza Ann Fry
	💍 1911/1951
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic Duties
Age	32	29
Dwelling Place	Riwaka	Riwaka
Length of Residence	2 years	29 years
Marriage Place	House of Mr. Edward Fry, Riwaka
Folio	11/1503
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 February 1911
Officiating Minister	Walter Wortly French

121

25 March 1911

Charles Lee Jackson
Doris Brougham

Charles Lee Jackson
Doris Brougham
💍 1911/1922

Bachelor
Spinster

Carpenter
Household Duties

25
20

Motueka
Motueka

9 years
20 years

House of Mr. G. Brougham, Motueka

11/1449

Graham Brougham, father

25 March 1911

Rev. C. B. Jordan

No	121
Date of Notice	25 March 1911
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Lee Jackson	Doris Brougham
	💍 1911/1922
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Carpenter	Household Duties
Age	25	20
Dwelling Place	Motueka	Motueka
Length of Residence	9 years	20 years
Marriage Place	House of Mr. G. Brougham, Motueka
Folio	11/1449
Consent	Graham Brougham, father
Date of Certificate	25 March 1911
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. B. Jordan

122

31 March 1911

Alfred Edgar Fry
Eleanor May Holyoake

Alfred Edgar Fry
Eleanor May Holyoake
💍 1911/3947

Bachelor
Spinster

Clerk
Household Duties

21
22

Motueka
Motueka

21 years
22 years

Presbyterian Church, Riwaka

11/3560

31 March 1911

Rev. Walter Wortly French

No	122
Date of Notice	31 March 1911
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alfred Edgar Fry	Eleanor May Holyoake
	💍 1911/3947
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clerk	Household Duties
Age	21	22
Dwelling Place	Motueka	Motueka
Length of Residence	21 years	22 years
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church, Riwaka
Folio	11/3560
Consent
Date of Certificate	31 March 1911
Officiating Minister	Rev. Walter Wortly French

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).