Moderator Eddy posted: 'Welcome aborad Mac, good to have you with us - But another Aussie? We're getting overrun with them'.
I was having lunch in Cornwall once (a baked banjo or banji, which was a fried-egg sandwich). The bartender recognised my accent. I asked him how he recognised it, and he said: 'My secretary comes from Geelong, and it IS just like our Cornish accent; we had Cornish seamen everywhere'. I replied: 'How did you spell that?'.
Reasons for the Aussie enthusiasm:
* Paddlesteamers played a huge role in the development of Australia.
* We still have a lot of them.
* Most of what we have still works.
* Most of what we have is accessible.
Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria