George Kenneth Whittaker MBE (16 January 1904 – 25 June 1964) was an Australian optometrist, planter, soldier and politician in Papua New Guinea.
[1] After studying at the University of Sydney, he moved to the Territory of New Guinea in 1925 to work for the Department of Public Health as a medical assistant.
[2] He led the first medical patrol into the New Guinea Highlands in 1933, before establishing a cocoa plantation near Lae, where he also started working as an optometrist in 1936.
[1] After being discharged from the Army, he worked at the Awilunga cocoa plantation, and served as President of the territory's Returned and Services League branch from 1951 until 1955.
[1] After retiring in 1957, Whittaker moved back to Australia, although he subsequently travelled to Papua and New Guinea several times to carry out optometry work.