Sarah, you said < the "Australian" hold is a position that I have always
called "upside down and backwards">
That's interesting!  I have never heard of the position you described.  (It's like in Tennis, we Aussies talk about playing ''American Singles", with one person serving and 2 returning.  When I was in the States, 3 of us were about to have a hit, and someone said ''want to play Australian Singles?'' - same thing!)

Anyhow, back to the breast.
Some years ago there was a popular method called *posture feeding*  I don't know if it was done elsewhere, but it was commonly recommended here.  Mothers were told to lie flat on their backs, and hold the baby above the breast.  The mother was told that gravity would slow the flow of the milk, so that the baby could manage better.  Curiously enough, some babies were actually clever enough to do it!  It did put a different pattern of pressure on the nipple, if the baby could attach, so perhaps some mothers felt it gave relief to nipple trauma.  
With better ongoing education of midwives, IBCLCs employed in maternity units, written breastfeeding policies, &c, posture feeding is now out (thankfully), but it took a long time to re-educate maternity carers.  Old habits die hard, and some of the midwives who were true believers continued teaching the practice until they retired.  I have to tell you a story.

My sister lived in a country town in Queensland, about 12 years ago.  One young woman who lived on a farm used to come to town the same day each week to do the shopping, and on Sundays for Church.  For her baby's first year or more, every time she was in town, she went to my sister's house, and lay on a bed to breastfeed her baby.  She had been told in hospital that her milk flow was too fast for her baby if she held him in her arms, and she had to posture feed.  So every feed that baby had was with mother lying flat on her back.

Must stop,
Joy Johnston, Midwife, IBCLC
Melbourne Australia