1907-10-17 The first motor wedding in New Zealand: the cars and gathering outside the church at Timaru, August 30 (actually 28), 1907. 1907-10-17. No known copyright restrictions
When I typed “Timaru” into the Auckland Libraries collection, I wasn’t expecting to uncover a national first. Yet up popped two photographs from 1907, proudly labelled as “the first motor wedding in New Zealand.” Both are captioned: “First motor wedding in New Zealand: the cars and gathering outside the church at Timaru, August 30, 1907.” Can you help hunt for history and uncover the mystery: who was the bride?
The images show a proud procession of early motor cars lined up outside St Mary’s Anglican Church in Timaru. Another shot catches them rolling down the street, a little parade of motoring modernity in a town still more used to the clip-clop of horses. Look closely, and you’ll see one of my favourite details — a cyclist who has pulled up at the kerb, pausing mid-ride to take in the spectacle.
It’s a glimpse of a moment when the new century was arriving in style. Timaru, with its strong early links to motoring, became the stage for what was described as New Zealand’s first “motor wedding.”
The caption gives the date as 30 August 1907, but parish records and newspapers confirm the wedding actually took place two days earlier, on Wednesday 28 August 1907. A small slip, but one that shows how easily details can drift in the retelling.
At the time, St Mary’s was itself in transition. Just weeks earlier, in July 1907, the foundation stone had been laid for the church’s new extensions. The tower we recognise today wasn’t yet in place, giving the wedding photographs an extra layer of period charm.
We know this was New Zealand’s first “motor wedding.” We know where, and we know when. We even know the makes of cars that were beginning to appear on Canterbury’s roads around that time — Gladiator, Renault, Vauxhall, Jackson — though the photographs don’t tell us exactly which were used that day.
Can you help hunt for history and uncover the mystery: who was the bride?
The names of the couple don’t appear in the Auckland Libraries captions, and the Weekly News spread that celebrated the occasion didn’t bother to record them either. The bride and groom are there in the image, their big day captured for history, but their identities remain elusive.
Somewhere in the Timaru Herald of late August 1907 lies the wedding report. Somewhere in the parish registers of St Mary’s, the entry is written in ink. But for now, all we have is the photograph, the procession, the cyclist watching on… and the question.
I would love a hand
1907-10-17 FIRST MOTOR WEDDING IN NEW ZEALAND: THE PROCESSION IN THE STREET, TIMARU, AUGUST 30, 1907. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections AWNS-19071017-13-03 No known copyright restrictions
