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What is your country's "coals to Newcastle"? (feddit.uk)
submitted 2 years ago by to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml
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I was talking with a friend who mentioned "taking tea to India". It made me wonder what the equivalents are around the world. "Taking coals to Newcastle" is the UK's.

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[–] 25 points 2 years ago (5 children)

Coals to Newcastle works well in Australia too. (I don't think I've ever actually heard that in practice though.)

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Australia also has a Newcastle (in New South Wales, north of Sydney). Not sure if it has/had coal mines, though I wouldn’t be surprised if it did. Australians using the phrase may be referring to their Newcastle, and even unaware of the English one.

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  • [–] 14 points 2 years ago

    Australia also has a Newcastle (in New South Wales, north of Sydney)

    Yes, that's why I mentioned it. When I said "works well in Australia", what I meant was "in theory, the same logic you used to apply it to Newcastle-upon-Tyne could be used to apply it to Newcastle, NSW", and not that it actually is used in Australia (I know I've never heard it).

    Not sure if it has/had coal mines

    Not just does it, but it is in fact home to Australia's largest coal-shipping port. In fact, Port of Newcastle is, according to Wikipedia, the world's largest coal terminal.

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