Whitridge emigrated from England on the Panama, arriving in South Australia in October 1850.
A fellow passenger, with whom he was to found a lasting friendship, was John Lorenzo Young, founder in 1852 of the Adelaide Educational Institution.
[1] Whitridge worked for the Austral Examiner[2] before taking a job as editor with the South Australian Register around 1859.
He was married and had a home "Kurltoparinga", Inman Valley (which served as the local church),[3] then "Pine Villa", Enfield, where he died suddenly, aged 36.
He had created a sufficient impression among art and literature lovers of Adelaide that a well-attended lecture was given in White's Assembly Rooms by W. Townsend for the benefit of his widow and family.