 He then eloped with Marie Cecilia Josephine Barron whom he married in Christchurch New Zealand, in March 1898.She was a Spinster of 23, and he said he was a Bachelor and Artist of 38; he gave his name as Girolamo Pieri Ballati Pecci Nerli, but the surname in the index was "Pecci".The couple immediately sailed for Australia settling first in Sydney and then Melbourne.