Intentions to Marry, 1912 Canterbury, Otago, Southland, Chatham Islands

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840450, 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 340

District of Timaru Quarter ending 30 September 1912 Registrar Alexander Montgomery

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

13 August 1912

Maurice O'Connor
Hannah Butler

Maurice O'Connor
Hannah Butter
💍 1912/9558

Bachelor
Spinster

Teamster
Cook

24 years
24 years

Timaru
Gleniti

4 years
2 years

Roman Catholic Church, Timaru

12/5084

13 August 1912

Dean Tubman, Roman Catholic Priest

No	98
Date of Notice	13 August 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Maurice O'Connor	Hannah Butler
BDM Match (96%)	Maurice O'Connor	Hannah Butter
	💍 1912/9558
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Teamster	Cook
Age	24 years	24 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Gleniti
Length of Residence	4 years	2 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Timaru
Folio	12/5084
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 August 1912
Officiating Minister	Dean Tubman, Roman Catholic Priest

13 August 1912

John Highsted
Mary Houlihan

John Highsted
Mary Houlihan
💍 1912/9559

Bachelor
Spinster

Gardener
Domestic duties

34 years
32 years

Timaru
Timaru

1 week
3 weeks

Roman Catholic Church, Timaru

12/5086

13 August 1912

Rev. Father Murphy, Roman Catholic Priest

No	99
Date of Notice	13 August 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Highsted	Mary Houlihan
	💍 1912/9559
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Gardener	Domestic duties
Age	34 years	32 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	1 week	3 weeks
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Timaru
Folio	12/5086
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 August 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. Father Murphy, Roman Catholic Priest

100

13 August 1912

Arthur Poole Kelland
Emily Olive Wright

Albert Poole Kelland
Emily Olive Wright
💍 1912/9541

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic duties

30 years
20 years

Timaru
Fairview

16 months
2 years

Wesleyan Church, Timaru

12/5089

13 August 1912

Rev. L. Hudson, Wesleyan Minister

No	100
Date of Notice	13 August 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur Poole Kelland	Emily Olive Wright
BDM Match (88%)	Albert Poole Kelland	Emily Olive Wright
	💍 1912/9541
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic duties
Age	30 years	20 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Fairview
Length of Residence	16 months	2 years
Marriage Place	Wesleyan Church, Timaru
Folio	12/5089
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 August 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. L. Hudson, Wesleyan Minister

101

16 August 1912

Edgar Woodcock
Eliza Hosking

Edgar Woodcock
Eliza Hosking
💍 1912/9542

Bachelor
Spinster

Creamery Manager
Domestic duties

37 years
24 years

Timaru
Timaru

6 days
4 weeks

Dwellinghouse of Mr. J. Brehaut, Woodlands Road, Timaru

12/5090

16 August 1912

Rev. L. Hudson, Wesleyan Minister

No	101
Date of Notice	16 August 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edgar Woodcock	Eliza Hosking
	💍 1912/9542
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Creamery Manager	Domestic duties
Age	37 years	24 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	6 days	4 weeks
Marriage Place	Dwellinghouse of Mr. J. Brehaut, Woodlands Road, Timaru
Folio	12/5090
Consent
Date of Certificate	16 August 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. L. Hudson, Wesleyan Minister

102

14 August 1912

Andrew Mackay
Edith Grace Grant

Andrew Mackay
Edith Grace Grant
💍 1912/7667

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic duties

30 years
25 years

Timaru
Timaru

8 months
5 years

Congregational Church, Timaru

12/5792

14 August 1912

Rev. A. E. Hunt, Congregational Minister

No	102
Date of Notice	14 August 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Andrew Mackay	Edith Grace Grant
	💍 1912/7667
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic duties
Age	30 years	25 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	8 months	5 years
Marriage Place	Congregational Church, Timaru
Folio	12/5792
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 August 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. E. Hunt, Congregational Minister

103

14 August 1912

Michael John Doyle
Flora Agnes Kane

Michael John Doyle
Nora Agnes Kane
💍 1912/9556

Bachelor
Spinster

Accountant
Household duties

32 years
24 years

Timaru
Timaru

16 years
24 years

Roman Catholic Church, Timaru

12/5082

14 August 1912

Dean Tubman, Roman Catholic Priest

No	103
Date of Notice	14 August 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Michael John Doyle	Flora Agnes Kane
BDM Match (94%)	Michael John Doyle	Nora Agnes Kane
	💍 1912/9556
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Accountant	Household duties
Age	32 years	24 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	16 years	24 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Timaru
Folio	12/5082
Consent
Date of Certificate	14 August 1912
Officiating Minister	Dean Tubman, Roman Catholic Priest

104

19 August 1912

Robert Douglass Aitchison
Annie Andrew

Robert Douglas Aitchinson
Annie Andrew
💍 1912/8203

Widower
Spinster

Shepherd
Domestic duties

44 years
42 years

Timaru
Timaru

4 days
4 days

Chalmers Presbyterian Manse, Timaru

12/6941

19 August 1912

Rev. A. Macaulay Caldwell, Presbyterian Minister

No	104
Date of Notice	19 August 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Douglass Aitchison	Annie Andrew
BDM Match (96%)	Robert Douglas Aitchinson	Annie Andrew
	💍 1912/8203
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Shepherd	Domestic duties
Age	44 years	42 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	4 days	4 days
Marriage Place	Chalmers Presbyterian Manse, Timaru
Folio	12/6941
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 August 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. A. Macaulay Caldwell, Presbyterian Minister

105

20 August 1912

Henry Edward Dick
Elizabeth Hedges

Henry Edward Dick
Elizabeth Hidges
💍 1912/9557

Bachelor
Spinster

Packerman
Domestic duties

24 years
20 years

Timaru
Timaru

10 years
8 years

Roman Catholic Church, Timaru

12/5083

George Henry Hedges (Father)

20 August 1912

Rev. Father Murphy, Roman Catholic Priest

No	105
Date of Notice	20 August 1912
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry Edward Dick	Elizabeth Hedges
BDM Match (97%)	Henry Edward Dick	Elizabeth Hidges
	💍 1912/9557
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Packerman	Domestic duties
Age	24 years	20 years
Dwelling Place	Timaru	Timaru
Length of Residence	10 years	8 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church, Timaru
Folio	12/5083
Consent	George Henry Hedges (Father)
Date of Certificate	20 August 1912
Officiating Minister	Rev. Father Murphy, Roman Catholic Priest

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).