In my town tomorrow night, I'm told, there'll be a dance played by "Paterson's Curse". I suspect none of its members knows that the name was used by a red hot band from Albury in the late 70s, and I know that band didn't know of another, earlier, band that made effective play on the name.

I forget the species name but Paterson's Curse is the common name given in NSW to a plant that covers the Murrumbidgee floodplain with its purple flowers; in NSW it is regarded as a noxious weed. In South Australia, where they have less choice about grazing, the same plant is commonly known as Salvation Jane, as stock have used it to get through severe droughts.

In Kyneton (Victoria) in the mid 70s, there was a band formed by a group of teachers at the local schools; when the males in the band outnumbered the females, they played as "Paterson's Curse" and when the females outnumbered the males, they played as "Salvation Jane".

Cheers, Rowan