Australian journalist, author, advocate of Australian labor politics and a utopian socialist ideologue
1861 CE
to 1917 CE
William Lane (September 6, 1861 – August 26, 1917) was an Australian journalist, author, advocate of Australian labor politics and a utopian socialist ideologue.
Lane was born in Bristol, England into an impoverished family.
After showing great skill in his education, he works his way into Canada as first a linotype operator, then as a reporter for the Detroit Free Press where he will later meet his future wife Ann Lane, née Macquire.
After settling in Australia with his wife and child, as well as his brother John, he becomes active in the Australian labor movement, founding the Australian Labour Federation and becoming a prolific journalist for the movement.
He authors works covering topics such as labor rights and white nationalism.
After becoming disillusioned with the state of Australian politics following an ideological split in the labor movement, he and a group of utopian acolytes (among them influential writer and poet Mary Gilmore) move to Paraguay in 1892 to found New Australia, with the intention of building a new society on the foundations of his utopian ideals.
Following disagreement with the colony regarding the legality of miscegenation and alcohol consumption, he leaves to found the nearby colony Cosme in May 1894, and later abandons the project altogether in 1899.
Upon resetting in New Zealand he continues his journalistic endeavors until his death in August 1917.
After his death he will be both celebrated as a champion of utopian socialism, and condemned as the arrogant leader of a failed new society.
Due to his radical politics and his extensive journalistic career, he remains a controversial figure in Australian history.
