In September 1952, Wharton was assigned to run the Snobs Creek Freshwater Fisheries Research Station and Native Fish Hatchery in Victoria, Australia.
[1] In the early 1960s, he visited the United States under a Harkness Fellowship administered by the Commonwealth Fund.
[2] He later moved to Lennox Heads, New South Wales, where he consulted for Australian-American Fisheries.
[2] In September 1961, Wharton and two colleagues (Hilary Jolly and John Lake) sent out a circular to scientists involved in freshwater research, proposing the formation of a dedicated society.
The society's inaugural meeting took place at Monash University in May 1962.