Intentions to Marry, 1914 Wellington, Hawkes Bay, Marlborough, Nelson, Westland

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840455, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

1914 is bound in three volumes - Auckland, Taranaki (1914a), Wellington, Hawke's Bay, Marlborough, Nelson, Westland (1914b), and Canterbury, Otago, Southland, Chatham Islands (1914c).

Page 1794

District of Wairau Quarter ending 31 March 1914 Registrar Charles Owen Trounson

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

10 February 1914

Donald William Knight
Eleanor Grace Harris

Donald William Knight
Eleanor Grace Harris
💍 1914/8258

Bachelor
Spinster

Storekeeper
Postmistress

27
20

Tuamarina
Tuamarina

6 years
20 years

Methodist Church, Tuamarina

14/1873

John Harris, Father of bride

10 February 1914

Rev. W. J. Oxbrow

No	15
Date of Notice	10 February 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Donald William Knight	Eleanor Grace Harris
	💍 1914/8258
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Storekeeper	Postmistress
Age	27	20
Dwelling Place	Tuamarina	Tuamarina
Length of Residence	6 years	20 years
Marriage Place	Methodist Church, Tuamarina
Folio	14/1873
Consent	John Harris, Father of bride
Date of Certificate	10 February 1914
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. J. Oxbrow

23 February 1914

Sydney Borck
Doris Wilson

Sydney Borck
Doris Wilson
💍 1914/8259

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic

33
22

Blenheim
Seddon

4 days
3 months

Mr. Rutland's House, Seddon

14/1874

23 February 1914

Rev. P. Fay

No	16
Date of Notice	23 February 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Sydney Borck	Doris Wilson
	💍 1914/8259
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic
Age	33	22
Dwelling Place	Blenheim	Seddon
Length of Residence	4 days	3 months
Marriage Place	Mr. Rutland's House, Seddon
Folio	14/1874
Consent
Date of Certificate	23 February 1914
Officiating Minister	Rev. P. Fay

26 February 1914

George Marfell
Ethel Jane Weaver

George Marfell
Ethel Jane Weaver
💍 1914/8289

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic

23
19

Seddon
Seddon

13 years
2 years

Gibsontown Hall, Kaituna

14/1881

Alexander Weaver, Father of Bride

26 February 1914

Rev. W. Wollstein

No	17
Date of Notice	26 February 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	George Marfell	Ethel Jane Weaver
	💍 1914/8289
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic
Age	23	19
Dwelling Place	Seddon	Seddon
Length of Residence	13 years	2 years
Marriage Place	Gibsontown Hall, Kaituna
Folio	14/1881
Consent	Alexander Weaver, Father of Bride
Date of Certificate	26 February 1914
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. Wollstein

9 March 1914

Arthur Victor Timms
Jessie Gilling

Arthur Victor Timms
Jessie Gilling
💍 1914/8260

Bachelor
Spinster

Shepherd
Domestic

24
19

Wairau Valley
Wairau Valley

24 years
6 weeks

Church of England, Wairau Valley

14/1875

Clara Gilling, Mother of Bride

9 March 1914

Rev. H. B. W. White

No	18
Date of Notice	9 March 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Arthur Victor Timms	Jessie Gilling
	💍 1914/8260
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Shepherd	Domestic
Age	24	19
Dwelling Place	Wairau Valley	Wairau Valley
Length of Residence	24 years	6 weeks
Marriage Place	Church of England, Wairau Valley
Folio	14/1875
Consent	Clara Gilling, Mother of Bride
Date of Certificate	9 March 1914
Officiating Minister	Rev. H. B. W. White

10 March 1914

Silvanus Landon Lane
Daisy Tapp

Silvanus Laudon Lane
Daisy Tapp
💍 1914/8268

Bachelor
Spinster

Shepherd
Clerk

29
27

Blenheim
Springlands

29 years
27 years

Mr. P. Jellyman's dwelling at Springlands

14/1876

10 March 1914

Ven Archdeacon T. S. Grace

No	19
Date of Notice	10 March 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Silvanus Landon Lane	Daisy Tapp
BDM Match (98%)	Silvanus Laudon Lane	Daisy Tapp
	💍 1914/8268
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Shepherd	Clerk
Age	29	27
Dwelling Place	Blenheim	Springlands
Length of Residence	29 years	27 years
Marriage Place	Mr. P. Jellyman's dwelling at Springlands
Folio	14/1876
Consent
Date of Certificate	10 March 1914
Officiating Minister	Ven Archdeacon T. S. Grace

13 March 1914

Edward Baker Colban
Phoebe Ellen Winsor

Edward Baker Colban
Phoebe Ellen Winsor
💍 1914/8279

Bachelor
Spinster

Farmer
Domestic

24
24

Blenheim
Blenheim

9 months
3 months

Church of the Nativity Blenheim

14/1877

13 March 1914

Ven Archdeacon T. S. Grace

No	20
Date of Notice	13 March 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward Baker Colban	Phoebe Ellen Winsor
	💍 1914/8279
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Farmer	Domestic
Age	24	24
Dwelling Place	Blenheim	Blenheim
Length of Residence	9 months	3 months
Marriage Place	Church of the Nativity Blenheim
Folio	14/1877
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 March 1914
Officiating Minister	Ven Archdeacon T. S. Grace

18 March 1914

William Richard Childs
Edith May Brydon

William Richard Childs
Edith May Brydon
💍 1914/8286

Bachelor
Spinster

Warden
Schoolteacher

35
27

Renwicktown
Renwicktown

3 days
27 years

Presbyterian Church, Renwick

14/1878

18 March 1914

Rev. W. O. Robb

No	21
Date of Notice	18 March 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Richard Childs	Edith May Brydon
	💍 1914/8286
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Warden	Schoolteacher
Age	35	27
Dwelling Place	Renwicktown	Renwicktown
Length of Residence	3 days	27 years
Marriage Place	Presbyterian Church, Renwick
Folio	14/1878
Consent
Date of Certificate	18 March 1914
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. O. Robb

18 March 1914

David McCallum
Elizabeth Maude Fairhall

David McCallum
Elizabeth Maude Fairhall
💍 1914/8287

Bachelor
Spinster

Labourer
Domestic

27
20

Blenheim
Spring Creek

27 years
20 years

Mr Fairhall's dwelling, Spring Creek

14/1879

Charles John Joseph Fairhall, Father of Bride

18 March 1914

Rev. W. O. Robb

No	22
Date of Notice	18 March 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	David McCallum	Elizabeth Maude Fairhall
	💍 1914/8287
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Labourer	Domestic
Age	27	20
Dwelling Place	Blenheim	Spring Creek
Length of Residence	27 years	20 years
Marriage Place	Mr Fairhall's dwelling, Spring Creek
Folio	14/1879
Consent	Charles John Joseph Fairhall, Father of Bride
Date of Certificate	18 March 1914
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. O. Robb

19 March 1914

William Phipps
Olive Cameron Kennedy

William Phipps
Olive Cameron Kennedy
💍 1914/8288

Bachelor
Spinster

Seedsman & Dairyman
Domestic

26
22

Springlands
Grovetown

12 months
22 years

House of Mrs. John Kennedy, Grovetown

14/1880

19 March 1914

Rev. W. J. Oxbrow

No	23
Date of Notice	19 March 1914
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	William Phipps	Olive Cameron Kennedy
	💍 1914/8288
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Seedsman & Dairyman	Domestic
Age	26	22
Dwelling Place	Springlands	Grovetown
Length of Residence	12 months	22 years
Marriage Place	House of Mrs. John Kennedy, Grovetown
Folio	14/1880
Consent
Date of Certificate	19 March 1914
Officiating Minister	Rev. W. J. Oxbrow

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).