Bill Thomas is a Tasmanian potter who started working with clay in the early 1970s with the help of adult education classes. In 1975, he and his wife traveled to London where he spent two years at the Harrow College of Art. In 1978, on their return to Australia, he established the Panogana Pottery at Dodges Ferry, a seaside town not far from Hobart. The pottery operated as a production workshop until 2015, producing a wide range of domestic stoneware decorated in rich colours and glazes. Work may be impressed 'Bill Thomas' or 'Bill thomas Tasmania' or 'Panogana Pottery Tasmania'.