HASSELBERG, Dan
Born March 1891; died 14 November 1918; buried 15 November 1918; age 27
Dan’s parents were Peiter Adolfus Wilhelm HASSELBERG, a Swedish national and a seaman by occupation, and Mary COOK of Timaru. They married in New Zealand in 1884, lived in Timaru and began their family in 1886 with the birth of a daughter Florence Armeda Jane [i]. She was followed by Dan, born in 1891, a second daughter Lily Frances in 1893, and two years later, a second son Willie Herbert. Over this period, Dan’s father anglicised the spelling of his forenames, so that Peiter became Peter, for example. In 1890, he was naturalised.
After attending school in Timaru, Dan began training and working as a carpenter, still living with his parents, though according to the 1914 Electoral Roll he was living independently with his sister Lily Frances (in Timaru). In July 1915, at the age of 24, he moved to Wellington to begin training as a police constable at the Police Training Depot in Rintoul Street. He began his service attached to the Lambton Quay Police Station but was transferred to the Taranaki Street Mounted Police Force in July 1917.
Dan enrolled to serve with the Army in 1917 and was included in the 1st Division of the Reserve Roll, although he was not called up. In November 1918, at the age of 27, he contracted influenza followed by pneumonia, and died at the Central Station emergency hospital [ii]. He was intestate. A brief report in the Evening Post on the day of his death commented that ‘Constable Hasselberg was a smart and active young man, and one of the most popular members of the Force.’
His parents notified his death in a notice in the Timaru Herald on 15 November. The notice referred to the cause of death: Result of influenza and pneumonia. Both parents lived to an old age, his father dying in 1932 aged 80, and his mother in 1950, aged 90.
Dan was buried in the Anglican section of Karori Cemetery the day following his death. His plaque simply states: Dan Hasselberg, Timaru.
In 1919 there were two In Memoriam notices published in the Timaru Herald – one to “Uncle Dan” from Peggy and Joan, and the other from “his loving friend Irene Phillips”.
Researched and written by Max Kerr
Grave information:
Section: CH ENG2
Plot: 38 E
[i] Florence died in 1902, aged 15.
[ii] According to the report in the Evening Post on the day Dan died. The Central Police Station occupied a site in lower Taranaki Street until the 1980’s. It was converted into a restaurant in 2000.
Born March 1891; died 14 November 1918; buried 15 November 1918; age 27
Dan’s parents were Peiter Adolfus Wilhelm HASSELBERG, a Swedish national and a seaman by occupation, and Mary COOK of Timaru. They married in New Zealand in 1884, lived in Timaru and began their family in 1886 with the birth of a daughter Florence Armeda Jane [i]. She was followed by Dan, born in 1891, a second daughter Lily Frances in 1893, and two years later, a second son Willie Herbert. Over this period, Dan’s father anglicised the spelling of his forenames, so that Peiter became Peter, for example. In 1890, he was naturalised.
After attending school in Timaru, Dan began training and working as a carpenter, still living with his parents, though according to the 1914 Electoral Roll he was living independently with his sister Lily Frances (in Timaru). In July 1915, at the age of 24, he moved to Wellington to begin training as a police constable at the Police Training Depot in Rintoul Street. He began his service attached to the Lambton Quay Police Station but was transferred to the Taranaki Street Mounted Police Force in July 1917.
Dan enrolled to serve with the Army in 1917 and was included in the 1st Division of the Reserve Roll, although he was not called up. In November 1918, at the age of 27, he contracted influenza followed by pneumonia, and died at the Central Station emergency hospital [ii]. He was intestate. A brief report in the Evening Post on the day of his death commented that ‘Constable Hasselberg was a smart and active young man, and one of the most popular members of the Force.’
His parents notified his death in a notice in the Timaru Herald on 15 November. The notice referred to the cause of death: Result of influenza and pneumonia. Both parents lived to an old age, his father dying in 1932 aged 80, and his mother in 1950, aged 90.
Dan was buried in the Anglican section of Karori Cemetery the day following his death. His plaque simply states: Dan Hasselberg, Timaru.
In 1919 there were two In Memoriam notices published in the Timaru Herald – one to “Uncle Dan” from Peggy and Joan, and the other from “his loving friend Irene Phillips”.
Researched and written by Max Kerr
Grave information:
Section: CH ENG2
Plot: 38 E
[i] Florence died in 1902, aged 15.
[ii] According to the report in the Evening Post on the day Dan died. The Central Police Station occupied a site in lower Taranaki Street until the 1980’s. It was converted into a restaurant in 2000.