Historical Notices of the Laws relating to Marriage in Aust Colonies 1788-1856

[majm]

There’s many a Treasure in the newspaper cuttings at Trove.

May I please draw attention to an article in the Sydney Morning Herald of Friday 7 August 1857, page 2.

In my opinion, the article ought to be compulsory reading for anyone asking about marriage in our Australian colonies.  And, don’t overlook the significant fact that the article is only giving the information about the first SIXTY-EIGHT years of Colonial rule in the Antipodes.   The details in the article demonstrate why there’s often  NO SIMPLE ANSWER.

So even in those first 68 years theres so much to consider:
There’s  diversity of rules, regulations, Acts of Parliaments (here in the various colonies and abroad in other British overseas realms and of course in Britain ‘herself’ ), Church (various denominations, and various religions) regulations, Church practices, licences, interpretations, changes from time to time, Civil court rulings, and all the many other issues raised in the article.  These are all interesting, and significant when you receive a copy of a marriage registration or record or image of a Church register and you then realise you need to know more about the document to be able to effectively interpret the information on the document.

So here’s the Trove link http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/12999027

Happy hunting ….. 

Cheers,  JM

[pinefamily]

Thanks, Majm. Just what I needed, a bit of light reading. 

[majm]

Yes, and there's a closed book examination on the topic coming up shortly....

Cheers,  JM

[tedscout]

I hope it multiple choice Majm

[majm]

Yes, I hope so too....

There's often confusion reigning in our household when anyone phones me re family history and OH answers the phone.   If they say "I have a quick question for JM about a NSW marriage in the 1800s"....  My OH says "Are you sure, because there's actually no quick answer available on that topic .... can you ask a different question on a different topic instead " .....

The 1857 article covers MOST of the history to 1 March 1856, but overlooks mentioning that Gov Macquarie actually urged the NSW chaplains of the time (1810-1821) to promote marriage, to improve the morals of the colony and etc ......  so there's many instances where our 21st century eyes would perhaps cry out "bigamy" ..... thus overlooking the "beyond the seas" issues that effectively ended many marriages, one party left behind (so mostly affecting convicted persons transported to the penal colonies...) 

I am going to pop a link here in this thread that I have cited often at RChat, it also have lots of information, and is fully referenced ....  http://www.aifs.gov.au/institute/seminars/finlay.html

The Sub-headings include : 
Australia: bigamy and the presumption of death: a 'people's divorce'
Divorce comes to Colonial Australia

May I note that the NSW Supreme Court Judge mentioned in the 1857 cutting, (Sir Alfred Stephen) is considered to be the chap who drafted much of the NSW legislation that formed the   NSW Divorce laws of the late 19thC and much of the 20thC ..... eg  "Matrimonial Causes Act Amendment Act (1879 No 24a)"

http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/num_act/mcaaa1879n24325.pdf

http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/stephen-sir-alfred-1291

Now to continue my longstanding hunt (of many decades) for a newspaper article about the history of the NSW Registrar General and the various changes to the regulations, practices and laws re CIVIL marriage registration in NSW 1856 -1895.

As for the light reading and the closed book examination, with multiple choice of course ...  I leave that to others to pose the question themselves ....


Cheers,  JM

[pinefamily]

That is very true Majm. "Bigamy" was not necessarily so, given the fact parties were separated by half the world, and convicts rarely made it back, as you have pointed out.

[majm]

Updating a link 

http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/34360/20050715-0000/www.aifs.gov.au/institute/seminars/finlay.html

May I commend : 
http://pandora.nla.gov.au/

and at least these two :
http://pandora.nla.gov.au/subject/11
http://pandora.nla.gov.au/subject/80

ADD
And here's Governor Macquarie's edict of 1810 

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/627934 24 Feb 1810 Sydney Gazette

(Macquarie arrived 28 December 1809 so he was obviously fully informed (by his own observance no doubt) of the goings on among Persons of different sexes co-habitating and living together unsanctioned by the legal ties of Matriomony ......   

Well worth the read   

Cheers,  JM

[pinefamily]

I could get lost for hours on that site. Thanks, JM.
And a happy new year to you!

[judb]

Hi JM

Thanks for those links.  I think this thread ought to go on the Resources Board.

Cheers, Judith