 In 1905, possibly to prevent his son from being taken away to a government mission, Richard Madge applied for Maitland to be exempted from the Aboriginals Protection Act of 1897.Madge senior registered Maitland's birth and enrolled him at Kelvin Grove Boys School.The 1905 Annual Report of Queensland Chief Protector of Aboriginals reports Maitland Madge was granted an exemption from the Protection Act at the age of ten.