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I have a Shimano freewheel (MX-30) that came with my bike from new. Unfortunately the internals got all gunked up and it stopped working (never engaged and became free both ways). I have bought and fitted a replacement part, but I would like to know how I should lubricate / maintain the freewheel so that this does not happen again.

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This is a controversial topic. If you squirt any sort of sticky lube into the unit it will only get worse. The "official" solution is to take it apart (which is very tricky) and clean it, then gently relube with the right stuff (which I think would be a thin "white grease"). There are (or used to be) special tools available that claimed to be able to relube an assembled unit -- dunno if they work. (And, in general, a freewheel/freehub should not require service, unless flooded or subjected to severe weather exposure.) – Daniel R Hicks Jan 7 at 16:51
I'd like to add that I have a 1986 Peugeot with a freewheel. Got it back in 2009. When I got it, it had not been ridden much, but had been left out in the weather, etc., and the freewheel was not operating well. A little ATF as described below, and bingo... works great now. And I have put just under 1500 miles on that freewheel to-date. – Zippy The Pinhead Jan 8 at 19:51

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I love ATF (Automatic Transmission Fluid) for freewheel (not free hub) lube. What I do is lift the bike-- if someone can help you with this, it's a bit easier-- so that you can rotate the pedals (and make the back wheel spin). Ideally, the bike should be tilted to the non-drive side about 45-60 degrees. With the back wheel rotating, you can see where to lubricate. As Sheldon puts it:

Look inside the smallest sprocket. The sprocket will be stationary, since the wheel is coasting, but you'll see an inner part of the freewheel that is spinning with the wheel. Drip oil onto the crack between the turning part and the stationary part. Gravity and capillary action will help work oil into the freewheel.

BTW, thought I should add what I keep my ATF in for cycling purposes. I have some old plastic bottles that once held printer ink. They look similar to this:

enter image description here

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