William Withers was born and educated in England. At the age of thirteen he was apprenticed to his uncle, a storekeeper. While still in this twenties, Withers received a legacy of 300 pounds and used the money to buy property in Natal. He subsequently moved to South Africa in 1846. After farming for some time, he turned instead to journalism, writing for newspapers and learning to set type in Dutch and English.
When news of gold discoveries in Australia reached Withers he moved to Melbourne and proceeded to Ballarat. Unsuccessful as a miner, he again turned to journalism working for various Melbourne and Ballarat newspapers. While living in Ballarat, Withers researched the history of the city; his History of Ballarat was published in the Ballarat Star in 1870 and was later published separately. Withers undertook personal interviews with many of the main participants in the Eureka Stockade uprising, that event being later incorporated into his novel, Eustace Hopkins : His Friends and Foes.
Withers' final years were spent in Sydney.
(Major source: Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol.6 : 1851-1890, R-Z)
