Bill Lane joined the
Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU) in 1947, was a State Representative for New South Wales on that body from 1964 until 1967, and a Vice-President from 1968 to 1969. He was elected a
Fellow of the RAOU in 1983. He was a founding member and President of the
Australian Bird Study Association. Lane banded
Australian birds for half a century (from the 1950s to the 1990s) throughout Australia, and was an early experimenter with
cannon netting. He also helped in the training of many of Australia's
bird-banders. Lane published numerous articles in the
Australian Bird Bander,
Corella and
Emu. He was instrumental in raising the awareness of the impact urban development has upon the habitat and distribution of Australia's native birds and other animals. He was awarded the inaugural
John Hobbs Medal of the RAOU in 1995 in recognition of his contributions to amateur ornithology. ==S.G. 'Bill' Lane Award==