William Aitcheson Haswell - Late Life and Legacy

Late Life and Legacy

Haswell resigned his office at the end of 1917 and was appointed professor emeritus. He continued doing research work until shortly before his death from heart disease at Sydney on 24 January 1925. In 1894 Haswell had married Josephine Gordon, daughter of W. G. Rich, who survived him with a daughter. Haswell was elected a fellow of the Royal Society, London, in 1897. In 1915 the Royal Society of New South Wales awarded him the Clarke Medal. In addition to the works already mentioned Haswell contributed a large number of papers to scientific journals. No fewer than 74 of these were published in the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. He was a member of the council of this society from 1881 until his death, and was its president for the years 1891–2 and 1892–3. He was also a trustee of the Australian museum for 33 years.

Haswell was shy and unassuming, with a quiet sense of humour and much appreciation of a good story. On vacation he was fond of fly-fishing and golf, but generally he was an unceasing worker, collecting himself the materials for his researches, and making his own drawings. The Text-Book of Zoology in which he had so large a share was an excellent piece of work, clearly written and concise, a remarkable piece of scholarship which in its own way could hardly have been excelled. Many generations of students in Great Britain, America and Australia, laid the foundations of their knowledge of zoology on this book. Haswell was himself a good and sound teacher, and at the time of his death, in four out of the six universities of Australia, the chair of zoology or biology was held by one of his former students.