Australian Rostrum
Encyclopedia
Australian Rostrum is an association of Australian public speaking
clubs, founded on 21 July 1930. It is the main continuation of the original Rostrum club ("The Rostrum") founded in Manchester
, United Kingdom
on 21 July 1923.http://www.act.rostrum.asn.au/Rostrum%20Recorder%20December%202005.pdf This club's other surviving descendants are "Rochdale Rostrum", a Rostrum club in the Greater Manchester area founded in 1978; and the presently dormant "Wellington Rostrum Club" in New Zealand.
Its early establishment makes Rostrum the longest running public speaking organisation in the world.
Rostrum clubs aim to help their members improve their speaking and meeting skills. They do this primarily through regular club meetings and less frequent competitions.
Australian Rostrum's main national competition for members is the "Sidney Wicks Speaking Competition". This is held roughly every six to eight years. In other years, state and territory competitions are dominant.
Its other main national competition is the annual Rostrum Voice of Youth (VOY). This is open to all high school
students. It involves a prepared speech and an impromptu speech.
, journalist
for the Manchester Guardian and public relations
practitioner. He came to believe that people needed to think through their own decision-making processes rather than just accept the promotions of the press and other interested parties. On 21 July 1923, he founded a club in Manchester with the prime purpose to encourage men to listen to many sources before formulating their own opinions, and then to speak their minds to groups of others in a way that would encourage them to listen. The club began as an offshoot of the Manchester YMCA
Businessmen's Speaking Class.http://nla.gov.au/nla.ms-ms7157
After the first meeting under a yew
tree at Greendale Farm near Manchester, meetings for YMCA members were held on Wednesday evenings in the local YMCA building. In 1924 a young Australian Engineer training in Manchester, Alan Crook (later MBE), joined Rostrum while studying at the Victoria University of Manchester
.http://www.rostrum.com.au/arc/rostrum-convention-wa-2005/rostrum2005.pdf The following year he returned to Australia.
tree on the shores of Middle Harbour
in Sydney. Alan Crook was the first President and Robert Swainson the Critic.http://www.rostrum.com.au/nsw/how-to-join/a-short-history Like the Manchester Club, this was a dinner club.http://www.rostrum.com.au/nsw/how-to-join/a-short-history In November 1931, "Luncheon Club No.1" was formed, Alan Crook again being the first President.http://www.rostrum.com.au/nsw/how-to-join/a-short-history "No.2 Luncheon Club" was formed in July 1932, No.3 in July 1933 and No.4 Club in July 1934.http://www.rostrum.com.au/nsw/how-to-join/a-short-history The original club was given the name of "Foundation Club".http://www.rostrum.com.au/nsw/how-to-join/a-short-history
In May 1934, Alan Crook went to Melbourne for a holiday and formed a Rostrum Club which a few months later, together with the then five Sydney Clubs, became the first Dais (regional council).http://www.rostrum.com.au/nsw/how-to-join/a-short-history Fred Seamons was the first President and held this office for 15 years. A second Rostrum club was formed in Melbourne in July 1935 and the Victorian clubs then formed their own Dais.
On the evening of 3 December 1935, George McNicholl, Treasurer of the Melbourne & Metropolitan Board of Works
and Chairman of the Australian Institute of Secretaries (AIS), moved a very gracious vote of thanks to a guest speaker from the SA branch of the AIS. Afterwards, some SA residents present asked McNicholl how he became to be such a good speaker. He told them about Rostrum. This discussion lead to the first South Australia
n meeting. It was held in Adelaide on 18 February 1936 in the inner suburb of North Terrace
.http://sa.rostrum.asn.au/hist.htm
In 1937, Alan Crook took a business trip to Brisbane and during this trip, he initiated Queensland's first club on 6 May 1937. By November that year Brisbane's second club was launched.
An Australian Rostrum Council was established on 5 January 1938, bringing together the state Daises. Fred Seamons was the President for the first eight years. Alan Crook served as Secretary for 27 years until his death on 9 August 1965.
By the end of the 1930s there were many Rostrum clubs throughout NSW, Victoria, SA and Queensland.
curtailed expansion. The first club in Tasmania started in 1947 and Western Australia
's first club was founded on 21 May 1948.
However, there was some surprising growth to the north, with the Changi Rostrum Club running in the Changi POW camp from 1943-1944 http://www.catalog.slsa.sa.gov.au/search?/Yrostrum&SORT=D&submit=Submit/Yrostrum&SORT=D&SUBKEY=rostrum/1%2C79%2C79%2CB/frameset&FF=Yrostrum&SORT=D&submit=Submit&6%2C6%2C.
The ACT's first club was founded on 3 March 1953 http://www.act.rostrum.asn.au/Rostrum%20Recorder%20December%202005.pdf.
In 1956, the Secretary of the Victorian Dias, Jo Davis, began a speaking competition for Victorian members. This competition later took his name as the "Jo Davis Cup" after his death in 1964.
In the late 50's a Dais was formed for the ACT
.http://www.rostrum.com.au/nsw/how-to-join/a-short-historyhttp://nla.gov.au/nla.ms-ms4963 This Dais went on to include clubs from nearby parts of NSW.
A book titled "Rostrum in Victoria: 1934-1959" by RE Tonkin was released by the Victorian Dais around this time.http://www.nla.gov.au
"Take the Chair", a book on meeting procedure was written for Rostrum by WA members Cecil Carr and Alan Foyster in 1962. The book sold over 90,000 copies in Australia between its release and 1990, when it was rewritten.http://wa.rostrum.com.au/Publicationshttp://www.nla.gov.au
In 1965 Alan Crook died, shortly after receiving an MBE for his work establishing Australian Rostrum http://www.act.rostrum.asn.au/Rostrum%20Recorder%20December%202005.pdf.
"Have something to say: a text book for public speakers" was written in 1969 by ACT member Laurie Burgess.http://www.nla.gov.au
"Chairmanship and Public Speaking" was written for Rostrum in the 1960s by NSW member Evan Bowen-Thomas.
1974 saw the creation of the "ACT Rostrum Critics Club", a group devoted to improving critiques in the ACT.http://nla.gov.au/nla.ms-ms4963
Until 1978, Rostrum in Australia was restricted to men but in that year, the national constitution was changed to allow the entry of women. However, women could not become a member without the Dais council in their state or territory also changing their rules to allow it. Within a few months there were female members in all states except Western Australia, which remained male only until 1986.
Also in 1978, a new club was founded in the UK - Rochdale
Rostrum.
The release of "History of ACT Rostrum" by Roy Ayrton and Tom Trebilco was another 1978 event.http://www.nla.gov.au Tom was later awarded an MBE for his Rostrum work http://www.act.rostrum.asn.au/Rostrum%20Recorder%20December%202005.pdf.
1984 saw Victorian member David Shaw write "Towards Better Meetings". http://www.nla.gov.au
Western Australian clubs began to admit women in 1986.
Also in 1986, NSW member John White and WA President David Julian Price released the first version of Rostrum's current curriculum standard, the "Personal Development Program" (then "Member's Development Program").http://wa.rostrum.com.au/Publicationshttp://www.nla.gov.au
"Brighter Rostrum meetings: how to make your Rostrum Club meetings more interesting" (edited by George Shaw) and "History of ACT Rostrum, Club 8, 1965-1986" (by Eric Martin and Don Clark) were yet more Rostrum titles released in 1986.http://www.nla.gov.au
1987 saw Rostrum release the book "Excellence for Communicators" by Laurie Burgess.http://www.nla.gov.au The then Prime Minister, Bob Hawke
, wrote the forward. http://www.act.rostrum.asn.au/Rostrum%20Recorder%20December%202005.pdf
This book was followed in 1988 by "How Do I?", http://www.nla.gov.au and the South Australian "Word master: word a day calendar: a vocabulary expander concept".http://www.nla.gov.au
The second Sidney Wicks competition was held in Canberra in August 1988 during the Australian Bicentenary celebrations, and was won by Bill Smith from WA. It was held in conjunction with a national conference entitled "Speak up Australia", held at the Australian Academy of Science
's "Shine Dome". The conference was joint project of Australian Rostrum and the Penguin Club of Australia, aimed to promote oral communication, especially to children.http://nla.gov.au/nla.ms-ms7157
In 1989, the book "A Critic's Bag of Remedies" was produced by WA members.http://www.nla.gov.au
1990 also saw NSW member Alan Milston release the history "Rostrum in Australia 1930-1965".http://www.nla.gov.au
In 1993, Australian Rostrum declared Robyn Williams
"Speaker of the Year".
Sydney hosted the third Sidney Wicks competition in 1994. The winner was Brian Gillespie of Queensland Rostrum.
Also in 1994, Bert Crummer wrote the 84 page book "A brief history of Rostrum Club No. 3 (Brisbane)".http://www.nla.gov.au
In 1997, New Zealand
Rostrum declared Peter Biggs "Speaker of the Decade". Also in that year, "Not to be silent: a history of Rostrum in Tasmania" was written by Malcolm Grant, "Meetings Made Easy" (a revised version of "Towards Better Meetings") was produced by Arthur Martin for Rostrum Victoria,http://www.nla.gov.au and South Australian member Ron Johnson released "Tips on Public Speaking and Meeting Procedure".http://librariesaustralia.nla.gov.au
The fourth Sidney Wicks competition was held in Hobart on 7 August 1999 in conjunction with the first Rostrum National Convention. The winner was Andrew Dickson from the ACT zone.
In 2005 the fifth Sidney Wicks competition was held in Perth
on 15 October at the National Convention celebrating 75 years of Rostrum in Australia. The winner was Clarrie Pryor from Tasmania.
In 2005, there were over 140 clubs in Australia, collectively containing nearly 1700 members.http://www.rostrum.com.au/arc/rostrum-convention-wa-2005/rostrum2005.pdf. There is currently one small club in Manchester, England. The sole remaining club in New Zealand, in Wellington, is at present in recess.
Over 3000 students participate in the Voice of Youth each year, covering over 500 schools.
Public speaking
Public speaking is the process of speaking to a group of people in a structured, deliberate manner intended to inform, influence, or entertain the listeners...
clubs, founded on 21 July 1930. It is the main continuation of the original Rostrum club ("The Rostrum") founded in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
on 21 July 1923.http://www.act.rostrum.asn.au/Rostrum%20Recorder%20December%202005.pdf This club's other surviving descendants are "Rochdale Rostrum", a Rostrum club in the Greater Manchester area founded in 1978; and the presently dormant "Wellington Rostrum Club" in New Zealand.
Its early establishment makes Rostrum the longest running public speaking organisation in the world.
Rostrum clubs aim to help their members improve their speaking and meeting skills. They do this primarily through regular club meetings and less frequent competitions.
Australian Rostrum's main national competition for members is the "Sidney Wicks Speaking Competition". This is held roughly every six to eight years. In other years, state and territory competitions are dominant.
Its other main national competition is the annual Rostrum Voice of Youth (VOY). This is open to all high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
students. It involves a prepared speech and an impromptu speech.
1920s
Rostrum was founded by Sidney Wicks. Wicks was an authorAuthor
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
for the Manchester Guardian and public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
practitioner. He came to believe that people needed to think through their own decision-making processes rather than just accept the promotions of the press and other interested parties. On 21 July 1923, he founded a club in Manchester with the prime purpose to encourage men to listen to many sources before formulating their own opinions, and then to speak their minds to groups of others in a way that would encourage them to listen. The club began as an offshoot of the Manchester YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
Businessmen's Speaking Class.http://nla.gov.au/nla.ms-ms7157
After the first meeting under a yew
Taxus
Taxus is a genus of yews, small coniferous trees or shrubs in the yew family Taxaceae. They are relatively slow-growing and can be very long-lived, and reach heights of 1-40 m, with trunk diameters of up to 4 m...
tree at Greendale Farm near Manchester, meetings for YMCA members were held on Wednesday evenings in the local YMCA building. In 1924 a young Australian Engineer training in Manchester, Alan Crook (later MBE), joined Rostrum while studying at the Victoria University of Manchester
Victoria University of Manchester
The Victoria University of Manchester was a university in Manchester, England. On 1 October 2004 it merged with the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology to form a new entity, "The University of Manchester".-1851 - 1951:The University was founded in 1851 as Owens College,...
.http://www.rostrum.com.au/arc/rostrum-convention-wa-2005/rostrum2005.pdf The following year he returned to Australia.
1930s
Crook, with the help of Robert Swainson and Stuart McPhee, formed a Rostrum Club in Sydneyhttp://www.rostrum.com.au/nsw/how-to-join/a-short-history. http://nla.gov.au/nla.ms-ms7157 It was founded on 21 July 1930,http://www.rostrum.com.au/nsw/how-to-join/a-short-history coincidently exactly seven years after the original club. It was founded under an AngophoraAngophora
Angophora is a genus of ten species of trees or large shrubs in the myrtle family , native to eastern Australia. It is closely related to Corymbia and Eucalyptus, and all three are often referred to as "eucalypts". The differences are that Angophora have opposite leaves rather than alternate, and...
tree on the shores of Middle Harbour
Middle Harbour
Middle Harbour is the northern arm of Port Jackson in Sydney, Australia.Middle Harbour extends about to the northwest, from where it joins the main harbour near the Heads. Its shore is nearly everywhere rugged, barren and forested and for this reason Middle Harbour was almost entirely neglected...
in Sydney. Alan Crook was the first President and Robert Swainson the Critic.http://www.rostrum.com.au/nsw/how-to-join/a-short-history Like the Manchester Club, this was a dinner club.http://www.rostrum.com.au/nsw/how-to-join/a-short-history In November 1931, "Luncheon Club No.1" was formed, Alan Crook again being the first President.http://www.rostrum.com.au/nsw/how-to-join/a-short-history "No.2 Luncheon Club" was formed in July 1932, No.3 in July 1933 and No.4 Club in July 1934.http://www.rostrum.com.au/nsw/how-to-join/a-short-history The original club was given the name of "Foundation Club".http://www.rostrum.com.au/nsw/how-to-join/a-short-history
In May 1934, Alan Crook went to Melbourne for a holiday and formed a Rostrum Club which a few months later, together with the then five Sydney Clubs, became the first Dais (regional council).http://www.rostrum.com.au/nsw/how-to-join/a-short-history Fred Seamons was the first President and held this office for 15 years. A second Rostrum club was formed in Melbourne in July 1935 and the Victorian clubs then formed their own Dais.
On the evening of 3 December 1935, George McNicholl, Treasurer of the Melbourne & Metropolitan Board of Works
Melbourne Water
Melbourne Water is a government owned statutory authority that controls much of the water system in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia including the reservoirs, and thesewerage and drainage system that services the city.- Overview :...
and Chairman of the Australian Institute of Secretaries (AIS), moved a very gracious vote of thanks to a guest speaker from the SA branch of the AIS. Afterwards, some SA residents present asked McNicholl how he became to be such a good speaker. He told them about Rostrum. This discussion lead to the first South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
n meeting. It was held in Adelaide on 18 February 1936 in the inner suburb of North Terrace
North Terrace, Adelaide
North Terrace is one of the four terraces that bound the central business and residential district of the city of Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It runs east-west, along the northern edge of the CBD.-North Side of North Terrace:...
.http://sa.rostrum.asn.au/hist.htm
In 1937, Alan Crook took a business trip to Brisbane and during this trip, he initiated Queensland's first club on 6 May 1937. By November that year Brisbane's second club was launched.
An Australian Rostrum Council was established on 5 January 1938, bringing together the state Daises. Fred Seamons was the President for the first eight years. Alan Crook served as Secretary for 27 years until his death on 9 August 1965.
By the end of the 1930s there were many Rostrum clubs throughout NSW, Victoria, SA and Queensland.
1940s
Rostrum in Australia took a while to spread further west and south, as World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
curtailed expansion. The first club in Tasmania started in 1947 and Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
's first club was founded on 21 May 1948.
However, there was some surprising growth to the north, with the Changi Rostrum Club running in the Changi POW camp from 1943-1944 http://www.catalog.slsa.sa.gov.au/search?/Yrostrum&SORT=D&submit=Submit/Yrostrum&SORT=D&SUBKEY=rostrum/1%2C79%2C79%2CB/frameset&FF=Yrostrum&SORT=D&submit=Submit&6%2C6%2C.
1950s
The second Rostrum Club in the UK was started in 1951. By this time, there were nearly 100 Rostrum Clubs in Australia.http://www.rostrum.com.au/nsw/how-to-join/a-short-history Speaking clubs were not as popular in the UK as in Australia, the main speaking club group there at the time, Toastmasters had only six clubs before World War II.http://www.clarkstonspeakersclub.org.uk/page20/page20.htmlThe ACT's first club was founded on 3 March 1953 http://www.act.rostrum.asn.au/Rostrum%20Recorder%20December%202005.pdf.
In 1956, the Secretary of the Victorian Dias, Jo Davis, began a speaking competition for Victorian members. This competition later took his name as the "Jo Davis Cup" after his death in 1964.
In the late 50's a Dais was formed for the ACT
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...
.http://www.rostrum.com.au/nsw/how-to-join/a-short-historyhttp://nla.gov.au/nla.ms-ms4963 This Dais went on to include clubs from nearby parts of NSW.
A book titled "Rostrum in Victoria: 1934-1959" by RE Tonkin was released by the Victorian Dais around this time.http://www.nla.gov.au
1960s
The 1960s were a time of rapid growth in the organisation in the ACT and surrounds. Five new clubs became established there during this time. http://www.act.rostrum.asn.au/Rostrum%20Recorder%20December%202005.pdf"Take the Chair", a book on meeting procedure was written for Rostrum by WA members Cecil Carr and Alan Foyster in 1962. The book sold over 90,000 copies in Australia between its release and 1990, when it was rewritten.http://wa.rostrum.com.au/Publicationshttp://www.nla.gov.au
In 1965 Alan Crook died, shortly after receiving an MBE for his work establishing Australian Rostrum http://www.act.rostrum.asn.au/Rostrum%20Recorder%20December%202005.pdf.
"Have something to say: a text book for public speakers" was written in 1969 by ACT member Laurie Burgess.http://www.nla.gov.au
"Chairmanship and Public Speaking" was written for Rostrum in the 1960s by NSW member Evan Bowen-Thomas.
1970s
Various levels of Australian Rostrum ran youth competitions in the early 1970s. In 1974, the various NSW local competitions were combined into a statewide "Voice of Youth" competition. In 1975, Voice of Youth went national, the first national final being held in Canberra. This competition continues today.1974 saw the creation of the "ACT Rostrum Critics Club", a group devoted to improving critiques in the ACT.http://nla.gov.au/nla.ms-ms4963
Until 1978, Rostrum in Australia was restricted to men but in that year, the national constitution was changed to allow the entry of women. However, women could not become a member without the Dais council in their state or territory also changing their rules to allow it. Within a few months there were female members in all states except Western Australia, which remained male only until 1986.
Also in 1978, a new club was founded in the UK - Rochdale
Rochdale
Rochdale is a large market town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the foothills of the Pennines on the River Roch, north-northwest of Oldham, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester. Rochdale is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan...
Rostrum.
The release of "History of ACT Rostrum" by Roy Ayrton and Tom Trebilco was another 1978 event.http://www.nla.gov.au Tom was later awarded an MBE for his Rostrum work http://www.act.rostrum.asn.au/Rostrum%20Recorder%20December%202005.pdf.
1980s
The first "Sidney Wicks Speaking Competition" was held in Sydney in 1980 to celebrate 50 years of Rostrum in Australia. It was won by David Mead from WA. The competition is also known as the "National Rostrum Speaking Competition" and "Sidney Wicks Trophy".1984 saw Victorian member David Shaw write "Towards Better Meetings". http://www.nla.gov.au
Western Australian clubs began to admit women in 1986.
Also in 1986, NSW member John White and WA President David Julian Price released the first version of Rostrum's current curriculum standard, the "Personal Development Program" (then "Member's Development Program").http://wa.rostrum.com.au/Publicationshttp://www.nla.gov.au
"Brighter Rostrum meetings: how to make your Rostrum Club meetings more interesting" (edited by George Shaw) and "History of ACT Rostrum, Club 8, 1965-1986" (by Eric Martin and Don Clark) were yet more Rostrum titles released in 1986.http://www.nla.gov.au
1987 saw Rostrum release the book "Excellence for Communicators" by Laurie Burgess.http://www.nla.gov.au The then Prime Minister, Bob Hawke
Bob Hawke
Robert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC GCL was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from March 1983 to December 1991 and therefore longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister....
, wrote the forward. http://www.act.rostrum.asn.au/Rostrum%20Recorder%20December%202005.pdf
This book was followed in 1988 by "How Do I?", http://www.nla.gov.au and the South Australian "Word master: word a day calendar: a vocabulary expander concept".http://www.nla.gov.au
The second Sidney Wicks competition was held in Canberra in August 1988 during the Australian Bicentenary celebrations, and was won by Bill Smith from WA. It was held in conjunction with a national conference entitled "Speak up Australia", held at the Australian Academy of Science
Australian Academy of Science
The Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The Academy is modelled after the Royal Society and operates under a Royal Charter; as such it is...
's "Shine Dome". The conference was joint project of Australian Rostrum and the Penguin Club of Australia, aimed to promote oral communication, especially to children.http://nla.gov.au/nla.ms-ms7157
In 1989, the book "A Critic's Bag of Remedies" was produced by WA members.http://www.nla.gov.au
1990s
In 1990, a new version of popular "Take the Chair" (rewritten by Rostrum WA members David Julian Price, Harold Luxton and Bill Smith) was released.http://wa.rostrum.com.au/Publications1990 also saw NSW member Alan Milston release the history "Rostrum in Australia 1930-1965".http://www.nla.gov.au
In 1993, Australian Rostrum declared Robyn Williams
Robyn Williams
Robyn Williams AM is a science journalist and broadcaster resident in Australia who has hosted the Science Show on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation since 1975, Ockham's Razor and In Conversation .-Background:Robyn Williams was born in Buckinghamshire, England, and educated in Vienna and...
"Speaker of the Year".
Sydney hosted the third Sidney Wicks competition in 1994. The winner was Brian Gillespie of Queensland Rostrum.
Also in 1994, Bert Crummer wrote the 84 page book "A brief history of Rostrum Club No. 3 (Brisbane)".http://www.nla.gov.au
In 1997, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
Rostrum declared Peter Biggs "Speaker of the Decade". Also in that year, "Not to be silent: a history of Rostrum in Tasmania" was written by Malcolm Grant, "Meetings Made Easy" (a revised version of "Towards Better Meetings") was produced by Arthur Martin for Rostrum Victoria,http://www.nla.gov.au and South Australian member Ron Johnson released "Tips on Public Speaking and Meeting Procedure".http://librariesaustralia.nla.gov.au
The fourth Sidney Wicks competition was held in Hobart on 7 August 1999 in conjunction with the first Rostrum National Convention. The winner was Andrew Dickson from the ACT zone.
2000s
2000 saw the release of "The torch of truth and freedom: the South Australian Rostrum history, 1936-1999" by Colin Chiverton,http://www.nla.gov.au and "Tips on Public Speaking and Meeting Procedure: Volume 2" by Ron Johnson.http://librariesaustralia.nla.gov.auIn 2005 the fifth Sidney Wicks competition was held in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
on 15 October at the National Convention celebrating 75 years of Rostrum in Australia. The winner was Clarrie Pryor from Tasmania.
In 2005, there were over 140 clubs in Australia, collectively containing nearly 1700 members.http://www.rostrum.com.au/arc/rostrum-convention-wa-2005/rostrum2005.pdf. There is currently one small club in Manchester, England. The sole remaining club in New Zealand, in Wellington, is at present in recess.
Over 3000 students participate in the Voice of Youth each year, covering over 500 schools.
Speaker of The Year
South Australian Rostrum annually holds its Speaker of the Year conmpetition. The Speaker of the Year is identified through an open contest between Rostrum members. Six finalists compete with one another in presenting a ten minute prepared speech and a three minute short notice speech. The winner is awarded the Freeman Jack Gerard Prize.Past Winners
| Year | Winner | Club |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Pat Bourke | 18 |
| 2009 | Ron Johnson | 20 |
| 2008 | Paul Wilkins | 1 |
| 2007 | Mike Hopkins | 9 |
| 2006 | Maureen Bourke | 18 |
| 2005 | Mike Hopkins | 9 |
| 2004 | Ian Drummond | 1 |
| 2003 | Tracey Korsten | 20 |
| 2002 | David McGowan | 9 |
| 2001 | Rachel Thompson | 22 |
| 2000 | Mel Tickle | 26 |
| 1999 | Don Gillespie | 10 |
| 1998 | Terry Boswell | 20 |
| 1997 | Terry Boswell | 20 |
| 1996 | Matthew Page-Hanify | 1 |
| 1995 | Les Laub | 30 |
| 1994 | Phillip Ellidge | 22 |
| 1993 | Pierre Fenech | 30 |
| 1992 | Philip Close | 18 |
| 1991 | Terry Anderson | 3 |
| 1990 | Brian Day | 25 |