> Britain sent convicts to Australia because it was so remote
That was a long time ago. We could bear in mind that for most of human history, people in Britain had no idea that Australia or most of the world existed.
> 'Antipodean' still carries with it a sense of remoteness in the UK even if the countries may be culturally close.
A number of us have done our best to explain what the author is conveying with the choice of language he is using but if you don’t believe us then there’s not a lot more we can do.
That was a long time ago. We could bear in mind that for most of human history, people in Britain had no idea that Australia or most of the world existed.