Name of “Iris Rita Morrison”, date of birth of 27 August 1906, from Neville Richards, grandson of Ivy Grace Oliver.

Preferred name of “Rita” from Barry Dent in an email dated 21 February 2018. Barry is the grandson of Iris Rita Morrison, who is the great-granddaughter of Samuel Oliver (b.ca1820), who built the first flour mill in New Plymouth.

Link to article in Truth newspaper from Barry Dent in an email dated 20 February 2018:

NZ Truth, 2 June 1927, Page 7
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZTR1...tart_date=01-01-1927
LOVE'S LABOR LOST
Victor Was Romantic Rita's Rustic Romeo
BALM FOR BROKEN HEART
SCENTED POWDER
"IN ALL BUT NAME"
(From "N.Z. Truth's" Stratford Representative.)

DOWN on the farm among the cows and chickens, Victor Douglas Whitehead won the heart of romantic little Iris Rita Morrison.

THAT was five years ago, when Rita was only 16 years old, but since then she has been disillusioned and now love's young dream is shattered. Incidentally, she has been awarded £200 as balm to soothe her wounded feelings and help her forget the tragic sweetness of the past. Rita, is one of those shy little country maidens - all innocence and with a heart reserved for the Prince Charming of her life.
She and Victor spent their happy, care-free days of youth together and friendship ripened into love.
Her former sweetheart, a dark, handsome young farmer, recently celebrated his 25th birthday, while Rita is not yet 21.
The Whitehead family had lived at Tikorangi for many years when the Morrisons arrived m the district in June, 1919.
The two farmhouses, separated by a by-road, were only three minutes' walk apart.
Victor arid Rita saw much of each other in the years, that followed.
Came a day when they journeyed together to New Plymouth and gazed spellbound at the glittering array in a jeweller's window.
A dazzling diamond ring attracted their attention. Victor simply couldn't resist buying it for his little sweetheart.
This was on Christmas Eve, 1925, and next day Rita announced the glad tidings to her parents. Having observed the trend of events, they were, not at all surprised.
On Victor's motor-cycle, the young lovers went to all the country- dances for miles around and spent many happy hours in the darkness of the movies.
Rita's betrothed called on her every day.
But in the following September the girl noticed a change in Victor's attitude towards her; he restricted his visits to Sunday evenings and gave up taking her out.
On one occasion he passed her bedroom window on his motor-cycle after midnight, arid when she mentioned the incident a few days later he declared that he had remained in Waitara playing billiards - quite overlooking the fact that the saloon closed at 10 p.m.
Subsequently she discovered scented powder on his coat, but herself suggested that he might have used it after shaving.
Needless to say, Victor jumped at this simple explanation.
Often, the headlights of his motorcycle betrayed to Rita her lover's return in 'the small hours of the morning.
He was known to visit New Plymouth several nights a week and once he was seen by Rita's brother talking to two girls - one of whom, by the way, is now his wife.
Then the blow fell. Rita and her father drove to the Tikorangi post office in a gig arid Victor passed them on his cycle. He cut them dead.
That night the girl went to stay with her brother at Bell Block and her father called to see Victor.
"If you annoy Rita again," Morrison is stated to have said, "I'll, thrash you like a dog!" Then he threw a package at Victor's feet arid stalked off.
Inside the package the young man found the engagement ring and his gifts to Rita.
Later, however, Victor was informed that the girl's father would not object to a reconciliation and he called to see Rita about 9.45 one night.
The erstwhile lovers went into a room together and .remained there until 4 o'clock next morning.
There was a dramatic sequel. On leaving, Victor clasped Rita in his arms and repeated his promise to marry her. Once again everything in the garden seemed lovely.
But the dark clouds had not vanished from love's horizon.
Victor failed to keep his appointment on the following Friday. Since then he has not recognised or spoken to his former sweetheart.
On December 21. 1926, he married Elsie Barbara Spence, and on January 14, this year, a baby was born.
It was in the New Plymouth Supreme Court last week, before Mr. Justice MacGregor, that Rita related the story of her ruined romance.
She claimed £250 damages for breach of promise against Victor. Lawyer Claude Weston appeared for the girl and Lawyer A. A. Bennett for defendant.
Rita, in evidence, said she expected Victor to keep his promise even though her father objected to his conduct and molested him.
In one of her letters to her lover, produced by counsel, she had written: "You have played with me since school days, you have made love to me and bought me a ring - and now everything has gone."
Another extract, read: “I have nothing to live for and may God punish the doer!”
Counsel: What did you mean by that? - l meant the other lady who crossed our path and stopped his coming back.
Rita's brother declared that he had told Victor he was leading a high life. "A low life, I should call it!" remarked the judge.
The defence outlined by Lawyer Bennett was that Whitehead admitted the promise to marry, but considered himself released from the engagement by Rita's father.
Whitehead . gave evidence. "You blame the father for this trouble; but for him there would have been no break?" asked counsel, "Yes," was the reply.
Mr. Justice MacGregor awarded Rita £200 damages. The reason the contract had not been carried out, his honor remarked, was that Victor, at the time; was virtually married - in all but name - to another woman.
He had taken the line of least resistance; had he done otherwise there might have been an action for seduction and maintenance.

Brian of nzolivers.com found another but shorter news item:
New Zealand Herald, 20 May 1927, Page 13
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19...tart_date=01-01-1927
BREACH OF PROMISE.
WOMAN AWARDED DAMAGES.
[BY TELEGRAPH. - PRESS ASSOCIATION.]
NEW PLYMOUTH. Thursday.
For breach of promise to marry, Iris Rita Morrison secured £IOO damages against Victor Douglas Whitehead in the Supreme Court to-day. Evidence showed that the two people lived on neighbouring farms at Tikorangi. They became betrothed after a long friendship, but gradually Whitehead "cooled off." Eventually he married another woman. The chief contention of the defence was that plaintiff's father broke off the engagement.

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Country of marriage from search on New Zealand BDM website in June 2022:
1936/9031. Bride: Iris Rita Morrison Groom: Frank Dent

Full date of marriage of 17 September 1936 from further searching in June 2022 on BDM Search by incrementally changing the date range for the marriage.

In an email dated 9 June 2022, daughter Betty Dent writes that, “My mother Iris Rita Morrison, (known as Rita), married Frank Dent when he was 47 years old!”.

Country of birth from search on New Zealand BDM website in January 2023:
1906/19048. Morrison, Iris Rita. Mother: Eva Mabel. Father: John Walter

Full date of birth of 27 August 1906 confirmed from further searching in January 2023 on BDM Search by incrementally changing the date range for the birth.