Charles Whitham

Who is Charles Whitham?

Charles Whitham was the author of the oft-reprinted Western Tasmania: A land of Riches and Beauty, which was a comprehensive study of the geographical features of West Coast, Tasmania and the conditions of the region in the 1920s. It is a mix of geographical and historical information about the west coast, and includes sections on Macquarie Harbour and the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company. His nephew Lindsay wrote a biographical essay in his book Railways, Mines, Pubs and People... in 2002. The text originally appeared in the Geographical Journal, Vol. 69, No. 1, p. 83, and was printed in book form in 1949.

Whitham had personally travelled to many of the locations and features that he described as well as to most of the peaks of the West Coast Range. His photographs in the State Library of Tasmania attest to some of the places that he had visited.

His earlier volume on the West Coast was produced in 1917.

It was not until the writing of Geoffrey Blainey's 'The Peaks of Lyell' in the 1950s that the history and geography of the west coast of Tasmania was thoroughly reviewed and showed the important contribution of Whitham's earlier work.