Published on August 13, 2021
Jane Maroulis (1997) and her husband, Daniel, are making headway with their successful and rapidly growing Hunter Valley wine label, Boydells. Jane’s hard work and commitment has led her to managing their vineyard and property, all while raising their four beautiful daughters. You can visit Jane and have a glass of wine (or two) at her new cellar door recently opened in Morpeth.
Jane shares more about her work, accomplishments and her aspirations for future HVGS students.
Tell us what you have been up to since leaving HVGS
After finishing high school, I spent some time overseas before completing a Bachelor of Psychology and Social Work at The University of Sydney. Shortly after, I fell in love with a farmer and moved to rural NSW. That is where our love story began! Whilst in rural NSW, I worked in Child Protection.
In 2014 I commenced at a support service called Kids Out West after recognising that rural children in Out of Home Care did not have the same support services as their city counterparts. I remain the Director of Kids Out West today, and it employs approximately 70 staff and has assisted countless vulnerable children in the child protection system. This is very challenging but extremely rewarding work which I am very passionate about.
My husband Daniel and I, along with our four daughters, moved back to the Hunter in late 2015. Here, we realised our other dream – a love for farming and wine – and started our wine label Boydells after purchasing our dream property and vineyard in East Gresford. It’s an idyllic place to raise our children, and it has been wonderful to be back in the Hunter, closer to family and old friends.
It has been a tremendous amount of work to start a label from scratch and to produce high-quality fruit in some challenging seasons, but we have loved every step of the way. In 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, we opened our restaurant and cellar door in Morpeth. What a roller coaster this has been. We are always learning and pivoting, but most of all, we have been welcomed and supported by the local community.
Have you continued with interests and passions that you had at School, and if so, how have you developed on them in your adult life?
Passions and interests evolve and develop with age and experience; however, it would be fair to say that I was a social person at school! So, in this respect, I have definitely continued this through Boydells and the ethos that it captures. My varied professional life between two very different sectors, resulted from an education that encourages critical thought and empowers women to be resilient, with a ‘have a go’ attitude.
I think the experience of venturing out of the safety net of your local community, experiencing the world on a wider level, and all the different people you come across in the process helps develop your interests as well as a sense of adventure, responsibility and respect for difference.
If you could go back in time, what experience from school would you do differently and from the learnings, what advice would you share with your girls or a current student?
Three of our girls are currently enrolled in the Junior School at HVGS, and our fourth will commence there in the ELC next year. The girls love school life at HVGS, and it is wonderful to watch them grow into confident young women.
If I could go back in time, I would take every opportunity that came my way. I am so impressed by all the co-curricular activities on offer to the students at HVGS. I would tell my girls and current students to give everything a go, not be afraid of making a mistake or looking like a fool. By trying all these different things, you get to meet a range of people, find hidden talents and passions and, equally but as necessary, find the things that you know you don’t want to pursue in life.