Intentions to Marry, 1912 Auckland, Taranaki, Gisborne

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840448, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

1912 is bound in three volumes - Auckland, Taranaki, Gisborne (1912a), Hawke's Bay, Wellington, Marlborough, Nelson, Westland (1912b), and Canterbury, Otago, Southland, Chatham Islands (1912c).

Page 308

District of Gisborne Quarter ending 31 March 1912 Registrar Henry Ewart Hill

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

16 January 1912

Thomas Henry Tosland
Fanny Lydia Hook

Thomas Henry Tosland
Fanny Lydia Hook
💍 1912/1594

Widower
Widow

Storeman
Household duties

51
53

Gisborne
Gisborne

14 years
10 years

Baptist Church, Palmerstone Road, Gisborne

12/1323

16 January 1912

Rev. Thos. Keats Owen, Baptist Minister

No	8
Date of Notice	16 January 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Thomas Henry Tosland	Fanny Lydia Hook
	💍 1912/1594
Condition	Widower	Widow
Profession	Storeman	Household duties
Age	51	53
Dwelling Place	Gisborne	Gisborne
Length of Residence	14 years	10 years
Marriage Place	Baptist Church, Palmerstone Road, Gisborne
Folio	12/1323
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 January 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. Thos. Keats Owen, Baptist Minister

20 January 1912

Frederick Thomas Knight
Alice Gould

Frederick Thomas Knight
Alice Gould
💍 1912/1583

Bachelor
Spinster

Shopman, Butcher
Waitress

38
32

Taruheru
Gisborne

9 years
4 years

Holy Trinity Church, Gisborne

12/1313

20 January 1912

Rev. Leslie Dawson Thomas, Church of England

No	9
Date of Notice	20 January 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Frederick Thomas Knight	Alice Gould
	💍 1912/1583
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Shopman, Butcher	Waitress
Age	38	32
Dwelling Place	Taruheru	Gisborne
Length of Residence	9 years	4 years
Marriage Place	Holy Trinity Church, Gisborne
Folio	12/1313
Consent
Date of Certificate	20 January 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. Leslie Dawson Thomas, Church of England

27 January 1912

Alfred Robert John Wallace
Elsie Alexander

Alfred Robert John Wallace
Elsie Alexander
💍 1912/1358

Bachelor
Spinster

Plumber
Lady Help

31
24

Gisborne
Gisborne

Life
7 years

Presbyterian Church, Gisborne, Poverty Bay

12/961

27 January 1912

Rev. William Grant, Presbyterian Minister

No	10
Date of Notice	27 January 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alfred Robert John Wallace	Elsie Alexander
	💍 1912/1358
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Plumber	Lady Help
Age	31	24
Dwelling Place	Gisborne	Gisborne
Length of Residence	Life	7 years
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church, Gisborne, Poverty Bay
Folio	12/961
Consent
Date of Certificate	27 January 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. William Grant, Presbyterian Minister

29 January 1912

Charles Tickner
Bessie Hunt

Charles Tickner
Bessie Flint
💍 1912/1593

Widower
Divorced

Farmer
Domestic duties

45
30

Te Arai
Te Arai, Poverty Bay

9 years
2 weeks

Private residence of Mr. Chas. Cullen, Manutuke

12/1322

29 January 1912

Rev. Hy. Thos. Rawnsley, Church of England

No	11
Date of Notice	29 January 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Tickner	Bessie Hunt
BDM Match (88%)	Charles Tickner	Bessie Flint
	💍 1912/1593
Condition	Widower	Divorced
Profession	Farmer	Domestic duties
Age	45	30
Dwelling Place	Te Arai	Te Arai, Poverty Bay
Length of Residence	9 years	2 weeks
Marriage Place	Private residence of Mr. Chas. Cullen, Manutuke
Folio	12/1322
Consent
Date of Certificate	29 January 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. Hy. Thos. Rawnsley, Church of England

30 January 1912

Rowe Brown
Tiakiwhere Hawtea

Rawe Brown
Tiakiwhare Hautea
💍 1912/748

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic duties

34
34

Te Arai
Te Arai, Poverty Bay

Life
Life

The Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Gisborne

12/1322

30 January 1912

Registrar of Marriages, Gisborne

No	12
Date of Notice	30 January 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Rowe Brown	Tiakiwhere Hawtea
BDM Match (89%)	Rawe Brown	Tiakiwhare Hautea
	💍 1912/748
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic duties
Age	34	34
Dwelling Place	Te Arai	Te Arai, Poverty Bay
Length of Residence	Life	Life
Marriage Place	The Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Gisborne
Folio	12/1322
Consent
Date of Certificate	30 January 1912
Officiating Minister	Registrar of Marriages, Gisborne

31 January 1912

Robert Hartley Wicksteed
Bertha Reston

Robert Hartley Wicksteed
Bertha Reston
💍 1912/1359

Widower
Spinster

Shellfarmer
Nurse

40
40

Gisborne
Poverty Bay

4 years
4 days

Presbyterian Church, Gisborne

12/962

31 January 1912

Rev. William Grant, Presbyterian Minister

No	13
Date of Notice	31 January 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Hartley Wicksteed	Bertha Reston
	💍 1912/1359
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Shellfarmer	Nurse
Age	40	40
Dwelling Place	Gisborne	Poverty Bay
Length of Residence	4 years	4 days
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church, Gisborne
Folio	12/962
Consent
Date of Certificate	31 January 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. William Grant, Presbyterian Minister

3 February 1912

James Henry Herbert
Josephine Kathleen McCorquodale

James Henry Herbert
Josephine Kathleen McConaghey
💍 1912/1360

Bachelor
Spinster

Cabinetmaker
Nurse

21
24

Gisborne
Gisborne

4 days
3 months

St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Gisborne

12/965

3 February 1912

Rev. William Grant, Presbyterian Minister

No	14
Date of Notice	3 February 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Henry Herbert	Josephine Kathleen McCorquodale
BDM Match (87%)	James Henry Herbert	Josephine Kathleen McConaghey
	💍 1912/1360
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Cabinetmaker	Nurse
Age	21	24
Dwelling Place	Gisborne	Gisborne
Length of Residence	4 days	3 months
Marriage Place	St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Gisborne
Folio	12/965
Consent
Date of Certificate	3 February 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. William Grant, Presbyterian Minister

3 February 1912

Henry Williams
Lily Attwood

Henry Williams
Lily Attwood
💍 1912/1361

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic duties

26
24

Gisborne
Gisborne

6 years
14 years

Presbyterian Church, Gisborne

12/964

3 February 1912

Rev. William Grant, Presbyterian Minister

No	15
Date of Notice	3 February 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Williams	Lily Attwood
	💍 1912/1361
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic duties
Age	26	24
Dwelling Place	Gisborne	Gisborne
Length of Residence	6 years	14 years
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church, Gisborne
Folio	12/964
Consent
Date of Certificate	3 February 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. William Grant, Presbyterian Minister

13 February 1912

Ronald Livingstone Ferguson
Helen Williamson

Dugald Livingstone Ferguson
Helen Williamson
💍 1912/1371

Bachelor
Spinster

Fruiterer
Housekeeper

30
33

Gisborne
Gisborne

5 years
1 year

Private residence of the bride's brother-in-law, 105 Hall Street, Gisborne

12/973

13 February 1912

Rev. John W. Rochore, Methodist Minister

No	16
Date of Notice	13 February 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Ronald Livingstone Ferguson	Helen Williamson
BDM Match (94%)	Dugald Livingstone Ferguson	Helen Williamson
	💍 1912/1371
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Fruiterer	Housekeeper
Age	30	33
Dwelling Place	Gisborne	Gisborne
Length of Residence	5 years	1 year
Marriage Place	Private residence of the bride's brother-in-law, 105 Hall Street, Gisborne
Folio	12/973
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 February 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. John W. Rochore, Methodist Minister

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).