Intentions to Marry, 1912 Hawkes Bay, Wellington, Marlborough, Nelson, Westland

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840449, 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 342

District of Pahiatua Quarter ending 31 December 1912 Registrar Daniel O'Rourke

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

1 October 1912

Charles Lowe
Annie Mary Marfaut Kugener

Charles Lowe
Annie Mary Margaret Kugener
💍 1912/8612

Bachelor
Spinster

Cycle Mechanic
Domestic

30
19

Pahiatua
Mangatainoka

3 days
14 years

Roman Catholic Church, Pahiatua

12/7746

Peter Kugener, father

1 October 1912

Rev. J. McKenna

No	24
Date of Notice	1 October 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Charles Lowe	Annie Mary Marfaut Kugener
BDM Match (94%)	Charles Lowe	Annie Mary Margaret Kugener
	💍 1912/8612
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Cycle Mechanic	Domestic
Age	30	19
Dwelling Place	Pahiatua	Mangatainoka
Length of Residence	3 days	14 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Pahiatua
Folio	12/7746
Consent	Peter Kugener, father
Date of Certificate	1 October 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. McKenna

24 October 1912

Michael Francis Murphy
Mary Bridget Shanahan

Michael Francis Murphy
Mary Bridget Shanahan
💍 1912/8614

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Dressmaker

31
27

Ballance
Pahiatua

2 years
21 years

Roman Catholic Church, Pahiatua

12/7748

24 October 1912

Rev. J. McKenna

No	25
Date of Notice	24 October 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Michael Francis Murphy	Mary Bridget Shanahan
	💍 1912/8614
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Dressmaker
Age	31	27
Dwelling Place	Ballance	Pahiatua
Length of Residence	2 years	21 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Pahiatua
Folio	12/7748
Consent
Date of Certificate	24 October 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. J. McKenna

30 October 1912

Sydney Seymour Andrews
Edith Annie Manifold

Sydney Weymouth Andrews
Edith Annie Manifold
💍 1912/8611

Bachelor
Spinster

Engineer
Household Duties

24
21

Pahiatua
Pahiatua

3 days
14 years

Residence of J. R. Manifold, Pahiatua

12/7745

30 October 1912

Mr. H. St. Johnston

No	26
Date of Notice	30 October 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Sydney Seymour Andrews	Edith Annie Manifold
BDM Match (94%)	Sydney Weymouth Andrews	Edith Annie Manifold
	💍 1912/8611
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Engineer	Household Duties
Age	24	21
Dwelling Place	Pahiatua	Pahiatua
Length of Residence	3 days	14 years
Marriage Place	Residence of J. R. Manifold, Pahiatua
Folio	12/7745
Consent
Date of Certificate	30 October 1912
Officiating Minister	Mr. H. St. Johnston

9 December 1912

William Henry Purdie
Lucy Eva Mackie

William Henry Purdie
Lassy Eva Mackie
💍 1912/5430

Bachelor
Spinster

Dentist
Domestic Duties

35
25

Pahiatua
Kumeroa

5 years
21 years

Residence of J. S. N. Mackie, Kumeroa

12/9015

9 December 1912

Rev. Canon J. C. Keeley

No	27
Date of Notice	9 December 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Henry Purdie	Lucy Eva Mackie
BDM Match (91%)	William Henry Purdie	Lassy Eva Mackie
	💍 1912/5430
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Dentist	Domestic Duties
Age	35	25
Dwelling Place	Pahiatua	Kumeroa
Length of Residence	5 years	21 years
Marriage Place	Residence of J. S. N. Mackie, Kumeroa
Folio	12/9015
Consent
Date of Certificate	9 December 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. Canon J. C. Keeley

16 December 1912

Fred Godfrey
Catherine Mulling

Fred Godfrey
Caroline Mullions
💍 1912/8613

Bachelor
Spinster

Assistant Great Inspector
Dressmaker

44
42

Pahiatua
Pahiatua

4 days
7 days

Church of England, Pahiatua

12/7747

16 December 1912

Rev. C. H. Isaacson

No	28
Date of Notice	16 December 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Fred Godfrey	Catherine Mulling
BDM Match (82%)	Fred Godfrey	Caroline Mullions
	💍 1912/8613
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Assistant Great Inspector	Dressmaker
Age	44	42
Dwelling Place	Pahiatua	Pahiatua
Length of Residence	4 days	7 days
Marriage Place	Church of England, Pahiatua
Folio	12/7747
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 December 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. C. H. Isaacson

17 December 1912

Walter Sidney Hart
Alice Marfaut Dodson

Walter Sidney Hirst
Alice Margaret Dudson
💍 1912/8610

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic

30
25

Ballance
Ballance

2 years
2 years

Methodist Church, Ballance

12/7744

17 December 1912

Rev. G. K. Stowell

No	29
Date of Notice	17 December 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Walter Sidney Hart	Alice Marfaut Dodson
BDM Match (85%)	Walter Sidney Hirst	Alice Margaret Dudson
	💍 1912/8610
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic
Age	30	25
Dwelling Place	Ballance	Ballance
Length of Residence	2 years	2 years
Marriage Place	Methodist Church, Ballance
Folio	12/7744
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 December 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. G. K. Stowell

30 December 1912

Horace Eugene Lowe
Elizabeth Ellen Thompson

Horace Eugene Lowe
Elizabeth Ellen Thompson
💍 1912/8708

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic Duties

26
21

Kohinui
Kohinui

7 days
21 years

Kohinui School, Room

12/8144

30 December 1912

Rev. R. Hermon

No	30
Date of Notice	30 December 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Horace Eugene Lowe	Elizabeth Ellen Thompson
	💍 1912/8708
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic Duties
Age	26	21
Dwelling Place	Kohinui	Kohinui
Length of Residence	7 days	21 years
Marriage Place	Kohinui School, Room
Folio	12/8144
Consent
Date of Certificate	30 December 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. Hermon

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).