AIM

The aim of Queensland Rostrum is to make available to the broader community, in a non threatening environment, the opportunity to develop confidence and skills in effective speaking and the conduct of meetings.

STRUCTURE

To provide the best learning environment in local areas, Rostrum exists as individual clubs located throughout Queensland. Clubs average 13 members and usually do not exceed 25 members, as the process of learning is very interactive. Large club memberships reduce the level of regular participation and interaction. Smaller groups are also less threatening to new speakers and provide a greater social atmosphere.

The management of Queensland Rostrum comprises a Council of representatives from each club. Beyond Queensland is an Australian Rostrum Council comprising delegates from each State or Zone.

HISTORY

In Manchester England, a noted journalist, publicist and author, Sidney Wicks, 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 which he called Rostrum. Its prime purpose was to encourage people to listen to many sources before formulating their own opinions, and then to speak their minds to large groups and small in a manner which would encourage others to listen.

The new club was attended by an Australian electrical engineer working in Manchester, R Alan Crook. He became a member, and on his return to Australia he gathered a group of like-minded men to form Australian Rostrum's first club, in Sydney. The date was 21 July 1930, exactly seven years after Rostrum was formed in Manchester. The Sydney club affiliated with the Manchester parent body on 10 August 1930. This is the date now accepted as the beginning of Australian Rostrum.

Some years later, R Alan Crook took a business trip to Brisbane and during this trip, he initiated Brisbane's first club on 6 May 1937. By November that year Brisbane's second club was launched.

Today, Rostrum is the longest-standing public speaking organisation in Australia, with thousands of members and hundreds of clubs.