Following in the footsteps of Florence Nightingale, Deaconess Joan Hartley was overwhelmed and humbled when she heard she was being awarded the Medal (OAM) of the Order of Australia.
"I think I'm only a very ordinary person. I don't know if I have achieved a great deal. I have just done the work that's come my way," she says.
Deaconess Hartley says she is "very honoured' to receive such recognition for her life's work but insists she must give the glory to God.
"What I have done has been in the Lord's service. I don't know if it's any greater than what anybody else does in the cause of duty," she says.
Deaconess Hartley is one of the 662 recipients receiving awards in the Order of Australia this Australia Day in recognition of a diverse range of contributions and service to fellow citizens at home and internationally.
Deaconess Hartley was awarded the OAM in the General Division for service to the community through the Anglican Church and to nursing in the area of aged care.
Deaconess Hartley was ordained Deaconess in Sydney Diocese in 1965. She was Honorary Secretary/Treasurer of the Australian Anglican Diaconal Association from 1976-1984 and 1990-1996.
Deaconess Hartley was the Director of Nursing at Eversleigh Hospital, Petersham from 1980 to 1997 and she spent a total of 34 years working for the Home of Peace (Hope Healthcare) organisation.
"At Eversleigh it was a great joy to be involved in the setting up of the Palliative Care services in the 1980s," she says.
"I saw the development of more compassionate care for those who were dying and better pain control. It was exciting to see the improvements for a better equality of life for those who were dying," she says.
Deaconess Hartley says a highlight of her career in ministry was a trip to the Kaiserswerth Deaconess Institute in Germany in 1975 with fellow Deaconess Mary Andrews.
Kaiserswerth is where the modern Deaconess movement began and the institution upon which the Anglican Deaconess Institution in Sydney was based.
"We saw the records of when Kaiserswerth started in 1836 and when Florence Nightingale went through."
"Florence Nightingale was an inspiration to all nurses. She started modern nursing. She was instrumental in setting up hospitals and training women as nurses," she says.
Despite being officially retired, Deaconess Hartley is still very active in her ministry.
She has been Honorary Deaconess at St George's, Earlwood since 1987 and still does pastoral visiting to the elderly and isolated. She is a member of the Anglican Deaconess Institution Sydney Limited's ministry "To And By the Ageing' Committee, and edits it's Newsletter Ageless.
June Howarth
Other Sydney Anglicans awarded the Medal (OAM) of the Order of Australia in the General Division include June Howarth, an active parishioner at St John's, Gordon, who was awarded for her service to the community through the Australian Red Cross, and for contributions to cultural, religious and welfare organisations.
She has been President of the Roseville branch of the Australian Red Cross, since 1985 and is the communicant and chorister at St John's.
Neville Jeffress
Another Sydney Anglican to be recognised was Neville Jeffress, a member of St Luke's, Mosman, who was appointed a Member (AM) in the General Division of the Order of Australia. He is the current chairman of Media Monitors (Australia) and a foundation fellow of the State Library of NSW Foundation.
He also supports a range of charitable and church organisations including Sydney Legacy, Anglicare Chesalon Community Care Centres and the Anzac Health and Medical Research Foundation.
Riley Warren
Sydney Anglican Standing Committee member Riley Warren has also been appointed a Member (AM) in the General Division of the Order of Australia.
Mr Warren is currently the headmaster of Macarthur Anglican School and received his award for “for service to education, particularly the Macarthur Anglican School, to a range of professional organisations, and to the community through social welfare initiatives for youth.”
Other recipients
Three other recipients were affiliated with Sydney Anglican churches but now live in retirenment villages and struggle to maintain regualr contact with their parishes.
Ann Ramsay, who was a regular attender at St James', Turramurra but at 91 now finds it difficult to maintain contact, was awarded for her service to the community as a volunteer radio broadcaster of church music.
Former St James', Balgowlah Heights and St Matthew's, Manly parishioner, Albert Adams was awarded for his service to the Manly community, particularly through surf lifesaving.
Roma Grace, a parishioner at St Stehphen's, Penrith until two years ago was awarded for her service to the community of Penrith through a range of charitable, cultural and ex-service organisations.
