Intentions to Marry, 1916 Kaikoura to Rakaia

Reference: Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Notices of intention to marry, Series 8937, R2840467, Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Wellington

1916 is bound in six volumes (a to f) with continuous page numbers. Each volume contains a different set of districts, going from north to south.

1916e contains pages 1803-2396, covering districts from Kaikoura to Rakaia

Page 1877

District of Buller Quarter ending 31 March 1916 Registrar Arnold William Mann

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

8 January 1916

Robert Henry Gilbert
Grace Mary Purchesse

Robert Henry Gilbert
Grace Mary Parkhouse
💍 1916/3998

Bachelor
Spinster

Dentist

31
27

Westport
Westport

10 years
14 years

Church of England Westport

1124

8 January 1916

Rev. R. D. Lambert Church of England

No	1
Date of Notice	8 January 1916
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Robert Henry Gilbert	Grace Mary Purchesse
BDM Match (90%)	Robert Henry Gilbert	Grace Mary Parkhouse
	💍 1916/3998
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Dentist
Age	31	27
Dwelling Place	Westport	Westport
Length of Residence	10 years	14 years
Marriage Place	Church of England Westport
Folio	1124
Consent
Date of Certificate	8 January 1916
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. D. Lambert Church of England

11 January 1916

Edward John Chapman
Clara Ann Powell

Edward John Chapman
Sara Ann Powell
💍 1916/3997

Bachelor
Widow

Builder

33
44

Westport
Westport

4 days
4 days

Church of England Westport

1123

11 January 1916

Rev. R. D. Lambert Church of England

No	2
Date of Notice	11 January 1916
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Edward John Chapman	Clara Ann Powell
BDM Match (94%)	Edward John Chapman	Sara Ann Powell
	💍 1916/3997
Condition	Bachelor	Widow
Profession	Builder
Age	33	44
Dwelling Place	Westport	Westport
Length of Residence	4 days	4 days
Marriage Place	Church of England Westport
Folio	1123
Consent
Date of Certificate	11 January 1916
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. D. Lambert Church of England

12 January 1916

Ernest William Patten
Grace Emily Gilbertson

Ernest William Patten
Grace Emily Gilbertson
💍 1916/3999

Bachelor
Spinster

Chemists Asst

30
20

Westport
Westport

12 years
20 years

Wesleyan Church, Westport

16/1125

Tasman Gilbertson, Father

12 January 1916

Rev. B. Dudley Wesleyan Methodist

No	3
Date of Notice	12 January 1916
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Ernest William Patten	Grace Emily Gilbertson
	💍 1916/3999
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Chemists Asst
Age	30	20
Dwelling Place	Westport	Westport
Length of Residence	12 years	20 years
Marriage Place	Wesleyan Church, Westport
Folio	16/1125
Consent	Tasman Gilbertson, Father
Date of Certificate	12 January 1916
Officiating Minister	Rev. B. Dudley Wesleyan Methodist

13 January 1916

Ashley Bell Broudie
Elizabeth Ryan

Ashley Bell Croudis
Elizabeth Ryan
💍 1916/3992

Bachelor
Spinster

Clothier

28
25

Westport
Westport

3 years
20 years

Residence Catherine Ryan Westport

1119

13 January 1916

Rev. T. Walshe Roman Catholic

No	4
Date of Notice	13 January 1916
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Ashley Bell Broudie	Elizabeth Ryan
BDM Match (95%)	Ashley Bell Croudis	Elizabeth Ryan
	💍 1916/3992
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Clothier
Age	28	25
Dwelling Place	Westport	Westport
Length of Residence	3 years	20 years
Marriage Place	Residence Catherine Ryan Westport
Folio	1119
Consent
Date of Certificate	13 January 1916
Officiating Minister	Rev. T. Walshe Roman Catholic

26 January 1916

Manford Herbert Mitchell
Jane Haslem Woodcock

Manfort Herbert Mitchell
Jane Haslem Woodcock
💍 1916/3996

Bachelor
Spinster

Mail Contractor

29
25

Westport
Westport

5 years
14 days

Church of England Westport

1122

26 January 1916

Rev. R. D. Lambert Church of England

No	5
Date of Notice	26 January 1916
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Manford Herbert Mitchell	Jane Haslem Woodcock
BDM Match (98%)	Manfort Herbert Mitchell	Jane Haslem Woodcock
	💍 1916/3996
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Mail Contractor
Age	29	25
Dwelling Place	Westport	Westport
Length of Residence	5 years	14 days
Marriage Place	Church of England Westport
Folio	1122
Consent
Date of Certificate	26 January 1916
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. D. Lambert Church of England

5 February 1916

John Kilkenny
Mary Phibbs

John Kilkenny
Mary Phibbs
💍 1916/3994

Bachelor
Spinster

Motor Proprietor

27
19

Westport
Westport

8 years
19 years

Roman Catholic Church Westport

1120

John Phibbs, Father

5 February 1916

Rev. T. Walshe Roman Catholic

No	6
Date of Notice	5 February 1916
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	John Kilkenny	Mary Phibbs
	💍 1916/3994
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Motor Proprietor
Age	27	19
Dwelling Place	Westport	Westport
Length of Residence	8 years	19 years
Marriage Place	Roman Catholic Church Westport
Folio	1120
Consent	John Phibbs, Father
Date of Certificate	5 February 1916
Officiating Minister	Rev. T. Walshe Roman Catholic

9 February 1916

Henry George Reid
Olive May Moreton

Henry George Reid
Olive May Moreton
💍 1916/9908

Bachelor
Spinster

Coal Miner

25
18

Westport
Westport

4 days
4 days

Church of England Westport

1121

Benjamin Moreton, Father

9 February 1916

Rev. R. D. Lambert Church of England

No	7
Date of Notice	9 February 1916
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Henry George Reid	Olive May Moreton
	💍 1916/9908
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Coal Miner
Age	25	18
Dwelling Place	Westport	Westport
Length of Residence	4 days	4 days
Marriage Place	Church of England Westport
Folio	1121
Consent	Benjamin Moreton, Father
Date of Certificate	9 February 1916
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. D. Lambert Church of England

22 February 1916

Alfred Gottle
Eleanor Alice Ryder

Alfred Nottle
Eleanor Alice Ryder
💍 1916/3991

Bachelor
Spinster

Hairdresser

26
23

Westport
Westport

18 years
5 years

Residence James Powel Westport

1118

22 February 1916

Rev. T. Walshe Roman Catholic

No	8
Date of Notice	22 February 1916
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	Alfred Gottle	Eleanor Alice Ryder
BDM Match (96%)	Alfred Nottle	Eleanor Alice Ryder
	💍 1916/3991
Condition	Bachelor	Spinster
Profession	Hairdresser
Age	26	23
Dwelling Place	Westport	Westport
Length of Residence	18 years	5 years
Marriage Place	Residence James Powel Westport
Folio	1118
Consent
Date of Certificate	22 February 1916
Officiating Minister	Rev. T. Walshe Roman Catholic

17 March 1916

James Mercer
Martha Harrison

James Mercer
Martha Harrison
💍 1916/3884

Widower
Spinster

Miner
Cook

35
34

Westport
Westport

4 days
4 days

Church of England Westport

1126

17 March 1916

Rev. R. D. Lambert Church of England

No	9
Date of Notice	17 March 1916
	Groom	Bride
Names of Parties	James Mercer	Martha Harrison
	💍 1916/3884
Condition	Widower	Spinster
Profession	Miner	Cook
Age	35	34
Dwelling Place	Westport	Westport
Length of Residence	4 days	4 days
Marriage Place	Church of England Westport
Folio	1126
Consent
Date of Certificate	17 March 1916
Officiating Minister	Rev. R. D. Lambert Church of England

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).