Michael Lester continues our series commemorating 125 years of Australia’s Federation. In this episode, we discuss *Melbourne and Mars: My Mysterious Life on Two Planets* (1889), an early Australian science-fiction work and utopian socialist manifesto by Joseph Fraser. Republished by Grattan Press, it’s explored with editor Dr Alexandra Roginsky (ANU) through the lens of 1890s pre-Federation literary and political ideas—showing how such stories reflected and projected the ideals that shaped Australia’s formation in 1901.