The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of Lieutenant Dalbert Isaac Hallenstein, 5th Machine Gun Battalion, First World War.

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Tristan Rallings, the story for this day was on Lieutenant Dalbert Isaac Hallenstein, 5th Machine Gun Battalion, First World War.

Lieutenant Dalbert Isaac Hallenstein, 5th Machine Gun Battalion
KIA 2 September 1918

Today we remember and pay tribute to Lieutenant Dalbert Isaac Hallenstein.

Dalbert Hallenstein was born on 15 August 1893 to Ruben and Lucie Hallenstein in Heidelburg, Germany, possibly while his father was conducting business there. His father was in business in Melbourne and New Zealand, and was an active participant in Jewish life in Melbourne, where he was president of the St. Kilda Hebrew Congregation. His parents took an active interest in charitable work, and during the war his mother was the founder and head of the St. Kilda Soldiers’ Lounge. Dalbert was educated at Melbourne Grammar School and, although he had studied accountancy, he went on to work as a tanner. He took a keen interest in military matters, and later served as a lieutenant in the local militia regiment.

Dalbert Hallenstein applied for a commission in the Australian Imperial Force in early 1915. He left Australia as a second lieutenant the following month with reinforcements to the 5th Battalion. Shortly before his departure he attended the St Kilda Synagogue with his parents. At the end of the service, the rabbi wished him farewell, saying “the Australian Jewish community were gratified when they saw their young men responding readily to the call of their king and country.” At another send-off at Federal Hall, Dalbert said to the attendees that “he only hoped he would do them justice. At any rate, he would have a good try.”

Second Lieutenant Hallenstein first went to Gallipoli, where he contracted dysentery and colitis. He was evacuated in September and was not fit to rejoin his battalion until the following February, when it had returned from Gallipoli. He spent the next several months serving with a number of cyclist battalions before being sent to France in June 1916. The following September, after being transferred to the 14th Machine Gun Company, he was promoted to lieutenant.

In 1917 Hallenstein was hit in the right wrist by a shell fragment while his machine-gun company was supporting an attack near the French village of Louverval. He was eventually sent to England to recover, and did not return to France for more than four months. He remained in France for the following year, spending time attached to the 5th and 55th Battalions, and attending the 4th Army Musketry School. In March 1918 he was transferred to the 5th Australian Machine Gun Battalion, and in August went to the United Kingdom on leave.

On 1 September, four days after returning from leave, Lieutenant Hallenstein took part in an attack on the French town of Peronne. At some point during the operation he was struck by a high-explosive shell and killed instantly.

Hallenstein’s commanding officer wrote to Reuben and Lucie Hallenstein in St Kilda to describe their son “as a brave man and a capable officer … deeply deploring his loss.” A tribute was published in the London Jewish Chronicle, saying that he was “an intrepid fighter, and was always modest regarding his achievements. This gallant and popular officer … leaves behind him a glorious example of true patriotism and cheerful self-sacrifice in the sacred cause of justice and liberty.”

Dalbert Hallenstein was buried in the Peronne Communal Cemetery Extension, where he lies today with no epitaph. He was 25 years old.

His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among almost 62,000 Australians who died while serving in the First World War.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Lieutenant Dalbert Isaac Hallenstein, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section