I can't speak for Australians, who I think have a rather charming accent. However you may want to give a moment's thought to the fact that the British have been speaking English since before the continents of America were discovered, which leads me to the thought that perhaps it's you who has the unusual accent. Given the huge number of people of different nationalities that have contributed to American accents it would be very strange if your accents hadn't become strange.

1) A Southerner what? According to your profile, I assume a North Carolina, USA Southerner... 2) "British people, or Britons, are a nation or inhabitants of Great Britain or citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, one of the Channel Islands, or of one of the British overseas territories" Languages: "Cornish, Dgèrnésiais, English, French, Irish, Jèrriais, Manx, Scots, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, Llanito" Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britisher I suppose when British people speak French or Gaelic, it could be rather unusual... 3) "Aussie is a friendly slang word for Australian, however, it can sometimes be used offensively. In Australia and New Zealand the word is only pronounced /ˈɔziː/; however, in the United States, it is either pronounced /ˈɔːsi/ or /ˈɑːsi/; and pronunciation of the word in the United Kingdom and Ireland usually follows Australian and New Zealand practice. Pronouncing the word with a voiceless /s/ in place of the voiced /z/ is strongly frowned upon by Australians, who consider it a canonically North American error, along with such errors as pronouncing the last syllables of Melbourne and Brisbane as "born" and "bane," respectively (both are correctly pronounced with a schwa)." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aussie 4) "The regional accents of English speakers show great variation across the areas where English is spoken as a first language." "English accents and dialects vary widely in Great Britain. This may be related to the fact that the language has its origins there and has been evolving there for several hundred years. The varieties of English in use in Great Britain are also influenced by the fact that it is comprised of England, Scotland, and Wales." "The greatest variation in Australian accents is along educational and occupational lines, expressed as three class-based accents: Broad Australian, General Australian and Cultivated Australian. However, some regional variation has been documented. Generally, accents are found to be broadest in the more remote and rural areas." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_accent Further information about American English: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_English

We Kiwis are very fond of British accent. I am anyway.