Salvation Jane, a flower by any other name
Salvation Jane, a flower by any other name
An article in ‘The Adelaide Chronicle’ in 1946 discusses Salvation Jane’s positive and negative elements. Inset: Is this the Jane the flower is named after – Mary Jane (nee Pillar) Malone?
Salvation Jane is the common name used in South Australia for the weed Echium plantagineum. In other areas of Australia, it is called Paterson’s Curse, Lady Campbell Weed, Blueweed or Riverina Bluebell.
The flower of the weed Echium plantagineum that has been said to resemble a Salvation Army bonnet.
The plant was introduced to Australia in the 1840s. Although beautiful to observe in full bloom, it costs the livestock industry $250 million annually due to loss of pastures, control costs and wool contamination. This has led to legislation and biological controls to eradicate the plant.
So, how is Salvation Jane linked to Salvation Army history?
There are many modern myths about the naming of the plant. I have identified three main stories linked to The Salvation Army.
One story states that a Salvation Army officer named Jane planted the flower in her garden at each appointment. This caused the plant to spread quickly. The second story connected the spread of The Salvation Army to the outbreak of the plant; neither could be eradicated. The third story claimed the name was due to the flower looking like a purple Salvation Army bonnet. All the stories have merit, although they are not all fully supported by primary sources.
In 1907, the Evening Journal of Adelaide stated, “in the northern areas it has been christened ‘Salvation Jane’ because it bears some resemblance to the poke bonnet which is worn or was worn not long ago by the Salvation Army lasses”. Similar ideas appeared in several newspapers throughout the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. It would appear the name Salvation Jane originated north of Adelaide before 1907 and was linked to the Army.
Cricket match
In 1889, there was a severe outbreak of the weed near Port Pirie, South Australia. There were plenty of women Salvationists in Port Pirie, as in 1896 the corps had a lasses band. We could leave the story there if not for a well-known cricketer, Wally Edwards, nicknamed ‘Snooks’.
Snooks called the weed ‘Salvation Jane’ at a cricket match in 1912. He was asked, “Why?” Snooks, plucking one of the flowers, replied, “You know the Jane in the Army at Pirie, she looks like this flower in her bonnet.” Jane was described as “a sweet and petite little thing”.
Former Australian Idol contestant Courtney Murphy released a single called ‘Salvation Jane’ in 2011.
One potential ‘Jane’ may have been Mary Jane Pillar, who married Charles Malone in 1900. There may have also been other female Salvationists at Port Pirie named Jane. Nevertheless, there is a clear story that a female Salvationist from Port Pirie, who looked like the flower when wearing her bonnet, influenced the name of the flower, Salvation Jane.
The name may have remained a local novelty; however, the Quorn Mercury identified that Snooks also helped spread the weed’s name, Salvation Jane. What Snooks had uttered was repeated in newspapers throughout South Australia.
The name, like the weed, continued to spread.
Salvation Jane has influenced Australian music, including INXS, Chloe and Jason Roweth, Courtney Murphy and James Montgomery. All these artists have sung about Salvation Jane, a flower whose name was influenced by a petite Salvationist in her bonnet from Port Pirie.
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