23/03/2022
It's the people that make the Swan Valley so special! ⭐️
Thanks for your hard work Mary!! ❤️ 🍷
CHAPTER FOUR
The Backbone of our Family Business.
Growing and maintaining a good family business doesn't come easy. There is a lot of hard work involved, much of it going on in the background by people who don't always receive the credit they deserve. One such person is Mary Kosovich.
Born in WA's goldfields town of Kalgoorlie, Mary is the daughter of Croatian immigrants Ivan and Matija Druzianich. Her first job was as usherette at the local cinema before moving to board with family in the Swan Valley and begin a job with Bankwest (then the R&I Bank).
It was at a local dance she met John and they married in 1961 welcoming their first son Raymond the following year. As John was putting his energies into building the winery, Mary was required to return to work before Ray's first birthday to help support the family. In the early 1960's it was extremely rare for a married woman, let alone a new mother to work away from the home but Mary's income was essential.
During this time, as well as working full-time, Mary was helping in the vineyard and winery, maintaining the business accounts, looking after the home and raising their son. As the business grew Mary would leave her job, which she enjoyed immensely, and begin working at the winery running the cellar door and selling the wine to trade outlets.
For the last 61 years Mary has been involved in all aspects of the business, from picking and pruning in all weather, bottling and labelling, handling the accounts, sales and distribution. She has done this all while raising three children Ray, Arch and Joanne and being involved with all four of her grandchildren and looking after the family home.
Whilst John, and now her son Arch, have rightfully received the public accolades for the wines produced, it is fair to say that it would not have been possible for them to achieve this without the never ending support provided by Mary. Toiling away in the background, doing whatever was required to make this business grow and thrive she is never afraid of hard work. It is fair to say that Mary Kosovich is the backbone of our family business and she has played a major part in us being able to achieve 100 years in business.