As an Australian who lived a number of years in the UK, I was initially surprised had how frequently I’d encounter people using the term antipodes to refer to Australia and New Zealand. A term I understood but had never actually seen or heard used previously. Yet it had fairly common and casual usage in the UK.

> "But so what? Clearly it is meant to say much more than geography ...".

Maybe. Maybe it was meant to emphasise the distance and isolation from much of the rest of the world. Or maybe it was just a turn of phrase that is common and understood in a context and experience outside your own.