Australia Informative Speech Outline

Speech Outline - Daniel Paull

Australia

Introduction

I.               Imagine arriving at a new country and being asked this question. Since Australia is in the southern hemisphere does the compass point the other way? Does North point towards the South Pole?

1.    And this person is a pre med student at Northwest so they should know this.

2.    When my brother first got here he was asked. Was it difficult learning another language? They did not know Australians spoke English too.

3.    Well what would you think about those people and the country they came from? You wouldn’t think they are very smart, would you?

II.             I’m sure no one hear wants to ask a question like that to a foreigner and seem uneducated but you may ask silly questions like this more than you know –

1.             I have done quite a bit of research and since I have lived there for 18 years I already know a lot about it.

2.             I am to educate you on Australia so you wont be in an embarrassing situation like this.

III.            I will give a brief history, mention the geography and people, and clear up some common misconceptions you all may have about Australia.

1.    So if you meet another Australian you will not seem stupid but well educated.

2.    Also some of you may want to travel to Australia, so should know what is true about it and what isn’t.

Body

I.               Ill start off by explaining the history of how Australia was formed.

1.    In 1786, the British government decided to start a convict settlement in Australia. - This allowed England to claim the country and stop France or Spain from taking it.

2.    Between 1788 and 1868, about 160,000 convicts were sent to Australia. - What happened to them when they got to Australia depended on their skills or education and how they behaved themselves.

3.    In 1851, gold was discovered in Australia for the first time.

A.    The discovery marked the beginning of the Australian gold rushes and a radical change in the economic and social structure of the nation.

B.    In 1852 alone, 370,000 immigrants arrived in Australia due to the gold rush and the economy of the nation boomed.

C.    This is one of the main contributions to making Australia a country with one of the most diverse populations.

4.    European settlement spread throughout Australia and during the mid 1800s the separate states were formed. - It wasn’t until 1901 though that the different states agreed to form a federation.

II.             Now that you know how it was formed I would like to show you how it sizes up to America in its geography and population.

1.    Australia’s land area is quite similar to that of America’s.

A.    Australia would cover around 96% of the mainland of the United States.

B.    Although they are similar in size America has many more people.

C.    Australia’s total population according to The Australian Bureau of Statistics is around 23 million. - Making America 14 times bigger in population.

D.    The biggest city of Australia is Sydney, which has 4.5 million people – that is a quarter of the size of New York.

2.    Australia has 6 states and 2 territories.

A.    (Name all the states and territories on map)

B.    I am from Western Australia. To give you an idea of its size, Western Australia is 3.6 times larger than Texas.

3.    Lots of people have thought us Aussies are bushman who live in a harsh desert environment.

A.    Although 70% of it would be considered the outback, according to Australian bureau of statistics less than 3% of Australians live in these remote areas.

B.    Most people live on the coast in a tropical to temperate climate.

III.            Now I am going to go through some common misconceptions you may have on Australia so you may understand the country better.

1.    Australia is well known for dangerous snakes and spiders.

A.    I have heard of people not wanting to go there because they think many people are killed from them.

B.    But while it does have a lot of venomous animals, they have killed very few people.

C.    According to University of Melbourne toxicologist Ken Winkel, on average there are only 2-4 deaths from snakebites in Australia each year.

D.    It is true, however, that Australia has the world’s most venomous snake.

a)     The inland taipan has enough venom to kill 100 grown men.

b)    But there are no records of it killing anyone. Thanks to antivenom treatment and its own shyness it’s been harmless.

2.    Australia is also famous for this animal (referring to slide).

A.    A lot of you would refer to it as a Koala bear.

B.    In fact, they are not even distantly related to bears.

a)     Perhaps the only thing they have in common with bears is the amount they sleep – but even bears couldn’t match them in this. 

b)    According to The Australian Koala Foundation, each day, the average adult koala spends 18-20 hours sleeping. The rest of the day they are eating.

3.    The kangaroo and also emu are Australia’s national animals.

A.    Kangaroos are not pets and nor do we ride them.

B.    Kangaroos are quite cute and can be fed in wildlife parks but they are also a delicious meal.

C.    We actually eat both our national animals.

a)     Kangaroo meat is considered to be similar to high quality beef, they are difficult to cook but when done right it is delicious.

b)    It is less common to eat Emus but don’t be surprised to see emu eggs on the menu.

4.    Another question I get asked regularly is what is vegemite and why do all Australians love it.

A.    It is made from, yeast extract - a by-product of making beer.

B.    A lot of Americans make the mistake of putting too much on.

C.    However not all Australians like it. I myself find it quite disgusting and according to Wall Street Journal marketers are now struggling to get young Aussies to eat it.

5.    I could go all day on misconceptions but here are just four more.

A.    “Lets put a shrimp on the Barbie”

B.    Also for those wondering there are no outback steakhouses in Australia,

C.    We don’t have the Aussie shampoo

D.    We don’t have fosters beer.

IV.           If you ever plan on going to Australia you may hear about drop bears

1.    They are similar to Koalas but are actually carnivores.

2.    They mainly prey on medium sized animals like kangaroos, but there have been quite a few human deaths.

3.    When they fall onto their prey they latch on with their curled claws so the victim cant escape.

4.    They are savaged beasts and some known areas have been bordered off from the public but due to deforestation there has been sightings in some public parks

5.    But don’t worry. Drop bears are not real.

6.    It is a story used to scare tourists and you would be surprised on how many people believe it

Conclusion

V.             Now that you know how Australia was formed, how it compares to America in size and now know the truths behind some common misconceptions you are prepared to shock an Australian with your knowledge.

- You can be the change that stops Australians thinking Americans are ignorant.