I have to challenge the notion that the antipodes gave birth to the rising inflection. It was (and still is) the normal cadence of inhabitants of the eastern counties of UK, known as East Anglia. It possibly goes back to the Danish imigrants of the post-Roman era. I postulate that from the fact that Danish - especially as spoken in Jutland - has a similar tendency.
As I pointed out some while back (and am to ignorant to be able to give the link, and too lazy to find out how!) East Anglia was a prime source of immigrants to Australia (there were subscription clubs, charities and all sorts that provided money for fares to get rid of the blighters - not enough went, though; there's still thousands of 'em in Norwich alone!)
Similarly, I need much more to convince me that either Canadians or Aussies invented the terminal "eh." That has been common in London - especially in the southern parts - for a very long time indeed.
