" Lives of great men all remind us 

 We can make our lives sublime, 

 And, departing, leave behind us 

 Footprints on the sands of time." 



— Longfellow. 



That great man, Joseph Henry Maiden, who departed this life at Turramurra, Sydney, 

 on the 16th November, 1925, was a bright example of those depicted in the above lines, 

 and in his multitudinons volumes giving the results of careful botanical investigations 

 he has left behind him a noble monument to his energy, his capacity, and his high sense 

 of duty due to the nation. 



Born at St. John's Wood, London, in April, 1859, he received his early education 

 at the City of London Middle Class School, soon showing a taste for science, and for some 

 time was assistant to the late Professor F. Barff. He came to Australia in 1880 for 

 health reasons, having provided himself with a return ticket, and for a few months was 

 engaged upon tutorial duties. The climate proved so beneficial, he decided to remain, 

 and became associated with the formation of the Technological Museum, Sydney, of 

 which he was Curator from 1881 to 1896, and he soon began to study the native plants. 

 Some of his early botanical lessons were learnt from the late Rev. Dr. William Woolls, 

 for whom he always retained the most affectionate memories. He was also a colleague 

 in botanical work of the late Baron von Mueller in his latter days, another of the great 

 pioneers of Australian botany. Mr. Maiden was Superintendent of Technical Education 

 from 1894 to 1896; Consulting Botanist to the Departments of Agriculture and Forests 

 from 1890; Lecturer in Forestry in the University of Sydney from 1913 to 1921, and 

 Lecturer in Agricultural Botany from 1914 to 1921 ; Director of the Botanic Gardens, 

 Sydney, Government Botanist, and Officer-in-Charge, Centennial Park, from 1896 until 

 his retirement in 1924. 



The particular genus which he studied most intensively was that almost exclusively 

 Australian one — Eucalyptus — and he added very many new species to the list previously 

 known, his field of investigation extending all over Australia. He also gave very close 

 attention to the genus Acacia, the largest in Australia, and described numerous new 

 species from many parts of the Commonwealth, though there was no Family which 

 escaped his critical notice. A feature of his investigations in the forest was his close 

 attention to details, and it was his custom to stand in front of the tree or shrub under 

 examination, note-book in hand, and enter his observations on the spot. 



By his enthusiasm and energy he formed the present Herbarium at the Sydney 

 Botanic Gardens, one of the finest in the Southern Hemisphere, and made many personal 

 journeys in the various States for material to enrich his collections. He also, at 

 considerable trouble, obtained type specimens which were collected in Australia 

 in the early days, but had been housed in herbaria in other parts of the world, including 

 some collected by Sir Joseph Banks in 1770. 

 B 



