His parents moved to Melbourne where he attended East Kew Central School and Richmond Technical College.

Whan later moved to Albury, New South Wales, where he worked in a woolstore and gained a wool classing certificate.

[2] He worked as a public servant before entering politics, serving as the officer-in-charge of the wool marketing section of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics.

[4] He lost his seat in Labor's landslide defeat at the 1975 election, although the relatively small swing against him was seen as evidence of his personal following.

[2] After his defeat Whan served as head of the New South Wales Milk Board and executive director of the Australian Council for Overseas Aid.