Henry Evans Maude

Henry Evans Maude, (1 October 1906 – 4 November 2006) was a British Colonial Service administrator, historian and anthropologist.

Life and career Maude was born in Bankipore, India. Educated at Highgate School from 1921 to 1925, and Jesus College, Cambridge, Maude represented India at rifle-shooting in 1926.

He spent the years 1929–1948 working as a civil servant and administrator in various Pacific Islands. Between 1940 and 1941, Maude was sent to the Pitcairn Islands by the Western Pacific High Commission, to modernise the government, and to establish a post office and issue stamps in order to generate revenue for the people of the island. During this time, Maude and his wife collected a great number of Polynesian archaeological items found on the Pitcairn Islands, later donated to the Auckland War Memorial Museum in New Zealand. From 1949 to 1955, he worked for the South Pacific Commission.

From 1957 to 1961, he was a Research Fellow at the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies (RSPAS), which is part of the Australian National University in Canberra. He has published widely on aspects of Pacific Islands history, was a co-founder of the Journal of Pacific History, and played an important role in establishing the Pacific Manuscripts Bureau.

Death and legacy Maude died, aged 100, on 4 November 2006.