Whittaker collected plants around Adelaide in South Australia in 1839-40. Whittaker traveled to places within South Australia where he collected a wide range of plant samples. These included Mount Lofty range, Mount Jagged, River Torrens, River Murray and the Hindmarsh River. Whittaker was the first person to collect from the mountainous district of the Fleurieu Peninsula, Encounter Bay and Mount Barker.