A BELOVED member of the Gordonvale Friends of the Hospital Foundation has been fondly remembered by family, friends and fellow volunteers.
Elaine Sues (formerly Townson), was a Gordonvale girl through and through, having been born at the Gordonvale Memorial Hospital in 1939, later working there and then fundraising for the facility so close to her heart.
Mrs Sues passed away in August aged 82 and has been remembered as one of the formative members of the then Gordonvale Hospital Auxiliary.
Famous locally for her caramel and marshmallow slice, people came from near and far to sample her baking.
Fellow Gordonvale Hospital Friends of the Foundation volunteer Beryl Wilson described Mrs Sues as a tireless worker.
“She fought hard to ride again and could be seen riding down to where we were selling tickets at IGA or in the Park and would spend hours sitting there. She was very well known for her scones and Marshmallow Caramel Slice,” Mrs Wilson said.
“Even when she was having an off day, she would provide them for us,” she said.
Mrs Sues grew up in Gordonvale, attended Gordonvale State Primary School until year 7 when she started working at the Gordonvale Newsagency followed by Rockman’s in Cairns – where she caught the rail motor every day to get to work. Later she found work close to home at the Gordonvale Memorial Hospital where she worked for many years. In about 1975, Mrs Sues started in a role of mending sheets and other linen and then went on to become a “domestic” as those staff were then known. She was also called upon to cook for the hospital when everything was made from scratch. Mrs Sues retired in 1996.
At the age of 21 she married Barry Sues, who was also from a local family and they celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary last year. The pair went on to raise five daughters and had nine grandchildren. Mrs Sues also was known for supporting the Gordonvale Church, Red Cross, Mainly Music for young children and their families and organising cards for Seniors.
The Gordonvale Friends of the Hospital Foundation comes under the umbrella of the Far North Queensland Hospital Foundation and CEO Gina Hogan also paid tribute to Mrs Sues' valuable contribution.
“We thank Mrs Sues and her family for their greatest gift over the years – their time. The support we receive from our volunteers is invaluable to helping improve health services in the Far North,” Mrs Hogan said.
With her family’s permission, we are sharing her Marshmallow Caramel Slice recipe:
Base: 125g butter, 12g sugar, 1 egg, 1 ¾ cups SR flour, ¼ cup cornflour, vanilla. Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla, beat well. Sift flour and cornflour, fold into mixture. Press into tray and bake in a moderate oven until lightly browned. Cool base and then spread with 2 ½ tins of caramel. I boil my condensed milk in a pressure cooker for about 20 minutes. You can boil for two hours on stove top.
Marshmallow: 1 ½ tbs gelatine, 5 tbs cold water 1 ½ cups sugar, 7 tbs hot water. Soak gelatine in cold water. Mix sugar and hot water and bring to boil to dissolve sugar, pour over gelatine and allow to cool. Beat mixture until peaks form and add a squeeze of lemon and colouring. Spread over caramel and sprinkle with toasted coconut.
Photo: Elaine Sues (seated) surrounded by her fellow Gordonvale Friends of the Hospital Foundation volunteers.
