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Kōrero: Marriage and partnering

First civil marriage celebrant

First civil marriage celebrant

Clothing Workers’ Union leader Frank Thorn was the first civil marriage celebrant (rather than a church minister) to conduct a wedding ceremony in New Zealand. He is shown here officiating at the marriage of Neddy Paraha and Perise Tuisaulu in August 1977.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Alexander Turnbull Library, Dominion Post Collection (PA-Group-00685)

Reference: EP/1977/3334/20-F

by Alan Stevenson

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Megan Cook, Marriage and partnering – Loosening rules, expanding choices: partnering from the late 1960s, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/30787/first-civil-marriage-celebrant (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Megan Cook, i tāngia i te 21 April 2011, updated 1 May 2017.