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.
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 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.
The S.G. 'Bill' Lane Award is presented annually by the Australian Bird Study Association to the most outstanding student in ornithology at Charles Sturt University.