Henry Devenish Skinner (18 December 1886 – 9 February 1978), known as Harry Skinner or H.D. Skinner, was a notable New Zealand soldier, ethnologist, university lecturer, museum curator and director, and librarian. The son of William Skinner, he was born in

New Plymouth New Plymouth ( mi, Ngāmotu) is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, Devon from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. ...

in 1886. Skinner received information on Māori house types and construction methods from Mere Harper. In the 1956 New Year Honours, Skinner was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, for services as director of

Otago Museum Tūhura Otago Museum is located in the city centre of Dunedin, New Zealand. It is adjacent to the University of Otago campus in Dunedin North, 1,500 metres northeast of the city centre. It is one of the city's leading attractions and has one of t ...

and lecturer in anthropology at the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

. The H.D. Skinner Annex of the

, formerly the Dunedin North Post Office, was opened in August 2013, and named in honour of Skinner. During his time at the museum, Skinner was responsible for adding more than 65,000 objects to the humanities collections, including purchasing a piece of from one of

Fletcher Christian Fletcher Christian (25 September 1764 – 20 September 1793) was master's mate on board HMS ''Bounty'' during Lieutenant William Bligh's voyage to Tahiti during 1787–1789 for breadfruit plants. In the mutiny on the ''Bounty'', Christian sei ...

's direct descendants. Skinner was one of 24,000 Anzac soldiers wounded at Gallipoli. In 2015, the Otago Museum opened the exhibition "Surviving Chunuk Bair: H. D. Skinner at Gallipoli'' using objects loaned by the Skinner family, including a sewing kit, medals, letters and photographs.

References

1886 births 1978 deaths New Zealand military personnel New Zealand curators People from New Plymouth University of Otago faculty New Zealand ethnologists New Zealand librarians People educated at Nelson College New Zealand recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century New Zealand scientists New Zealand military personnel of World War I {{NewZealand-mil-bio-stub People associated with Otago Museum New Zealand ethnographers