History – The Mahurangi wedding: a history

When immigrant ships arrived at the port of Auckland, young men would line the foreshore to view any single women as they came ashore.

A wife was not only a useful helpmate and companion, she was also the means to acquire an extra 40 acres of land.

The marriage of Henry Pulham (known as Harry) and Nicholas Darroch on 28th December 1854 is thought to be the first in the Mahurangi district. Marriage Bay, near Scotts Landing, was named to mark the occasion. The bridegroom’s father William Pulham wrote in his diary ‘Daldy (William C Daldy ) took Maria (Henry’s sister ) and Mr B the parson to Mahurangi to effect Harry’s wedding’.

The marriage united two seafaring families and there are now hundreds of descendants.

In colonial times it was usual for weddings to be held at the home of the bride’s parents. It was also usual for the bride to make her own dress by hand, delicately stitching tucks and lace insertions. A bouquet could be as simple as a bunch of white snowdrops with some fern. A coronet of orange blossom was considered to bring good luck and the throwing of rice over the couple was traditional.

When Clara Grimmer married Evan Richards in 1876 she was the fifth sister in the family to be married by Rev McKinney at Forest Home, Dome Valley. Clara lived to be 99 years of age and in an interview with the Herald she recalled her wedding day. The bridegroom had to ride 26 miles to get the marriage licence. During the ceremony the minister’s horse was frightened and bolted away down the road. Boys were sent in hot pursuit as Mr McKinney had another wedding to attend that day. Clara herself was undaunted by long horse rides and set off with her new husband for Aratapu, near Dargaville, the site of their first home.

Another intrepid bride was Eleanor Boler who married A N Steventon at Tauhoa in 1888. Immediately after their wedding the couple left to drive a mob of cattle to Auckland. The bride went on ahead with her brother and reached the destination in two days but the bridegroom took four days to complete the journey.

By 1900 more formal church weddings were customary. In country areas a marriage was an occasion for celebration and the ceremony was often followed by a dance in the local hall, enjoyed by the whole community.

Warkworth couples left for their honeymoon by the steamer or by train from Kaipara Flats. A decorated coach and four was considered an elegant way for them to be conveyed to the wharf or station. As time went by a shiny new automobile replaced the horse-drawn vehicle.

The custom of tin-canning was widespread. Once a newly-married couple was settled in their new home their friends would arrive one night and make a deafening clatter outside by banging tin cans together until they were invited inside.

PS I would like to thank all the people who have encouraged me to write the column over the last seven years. It is heartening to know so many share my interest in local history.

Very special thanks to the staff of Mahurangi Matters who have always managed to make my stories look so good in print.

PPS  Nicholas Darroch really was a lady, it is not a mistake.