John Charles Walters v Elizabeth Jane Walters and John McCallum

John Charles Walters and Elizabeth Townsend were married in Dunedin on the 16 March 1903. They had eight children born between 1904 and 1913.

John claimed that Elizabeth had committed adultery with John McCallum in the months of May and June 1919. John McCallum was a shipwright of Port Chalmers. Charles petitioned the Court for his marriage to be dissolved, £50.00 in damages from John, custody of the children, costs to be paid by John and any other relief that the Court decided. John in his answer to the Petition affirmed that the adultery did take place.

The divorce file contains several letters as exhibits, including one from John Walters’ lawyer, A C Hanlon, where Elizabeth asks for the £4.00 and the gold ring with 3 rubies that she lent him be returned. The other letters are from Elizabeth to John arranging a time and place to meet and also telling him that she gotten home safely. From the letters, Elizabeth appears to be a nurse or does some kind of nursing. In another letter to John she describes having influenza.

Although they were granted a Decree Nisi in 1919, John and Elizabeth decided to stay together. However they, finally got divorced in 1941; the divorce proceedings having commenced in 1929, see the divorce file: Walters, John Charles v Walters, Elizabeth Jane and Waite, William, 1929-1941 [Archives Reference: DAAC/ 20681/D140/427 – 963/1929].