Amy Vera Ackman, known as Mother Giovanni (3 July 1886 – 23 August 1966) was an Australian hospital administrator and one of the

Sisters of Charity Many religious communities have the term Sisters of Charity in their name. Some ''Sisters of Charity'' communities refer to the Vincentian tradition alone, or in America to the tradition of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (whose sisters are also of ...

Biography

Ackman was born into a Jewish family in

Randwick Randwick is a suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Randwick is located 6 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government ar ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

and was educated at the

Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute for women in the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. In 2019, the institute had about 6,200 Religious sister, sisters worldwide, organized into a number ...

St Mary's Convent School in Malmsbury. She studied in London and became an optometrist, and established a practice in

Collins Street, Melbourne Collins Street is a major street in the Melbourne central business district, central business district of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was laid out in the first survey of Melbourne, the original 1837 Hoddle Grid, and soon became the most ...

in 1912. She became one of the Sisters of Charity, and made her vows in April 1917 and became "Mother Giovanni". From early 1922 she worked in the admissions office of St Vincent's Hospital in

Darlinghurst, Sydney Darlinghurst is an inner-city suburb in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district (CBD) and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the Ci ...

. She was appointed the Sisters hospital administrator for Bathurst from 1932 to 1937 and Lismore from 1938 to 1941, followed by a five-year term at St Vincent's Private Hospital Sydney in Darlinghurst. Ackman was elected to the Sisters general council in 1949, and was sent to Kangaroo Point, Brisbane in March 1953, where she was involved with setting up a town office. Her fundraising led to the establishment of the £428,000 176-bed Mount Olivet Hospital, Kangaroo Point, in September 1957. In her final years she volunteered as a missionary in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

, arriving in 1963 and subsequently caring for some 300 children in

Bundi Bundi is a town in the Hadoti region of Rajasthan state in northwest India. Climate The climate is hot semi arid (BSh), not having enough rainfall to qualify as a tropical savanna climate (Aw). The climate is quite warm, and most of the ra ...

. After returning to a home in Darling Point, Sydney, she moved to the Mount Olivet Hospital where she died in August 1966. She is buried there in

Nudgee Cemetery Nudgee Cemetery & Crematorium is a large Roman Catholic cemetery at 493 St Vincents Road, Nudgee, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The cemetery opened in 1867 and is still operating. Over 31,000 people are buried there. Services The cemetery ...

References

External links

Mother Giovanni Ackman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ackman, Amy 1886 births 1966 deaths Australian hospital administrators Sisters of Charity Federation in the Vincentian-Setonian Tradition People from Sydney