Raised on a farm in the Wimmera region of Victoria, Elizabeth Lane was born into a large family of twelve children and a household that was managed with limited means. One of only sixteen pupils, she attended the small weather-board school at Miram North East. Drawing on these formative years Lane, who began writing in 1954, found in the everyday experiences of rural life the inspiration for her two autobiographical novels, Mad as Rabbits (1962) and Our Uncle Charlie (1964).
During the 1940s, Lane befriended the artist, poet and short story writer, Hal Gye (q.v.). Described by Lane as her 'nimble-witted, multi-talented neighbour', Gye was best known for his illustrations which accompanied the work of such writers as C. J. Dennis, Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson. Lane's association with Gye subsequently lead to her biographical tribute, Hal Gye : The Man and His Work (1986).
Lane has contributed short stories and articles to a variety of magazines and anthologies with her work appearing in publications such as the Bulletin, Australian Woman's Mirror and Australian Women's Weekly.
Lane moved from Melbourne (Victoria) to Perth (Western Australia) in 1968.
