John Thomson worked as a librarian at the National Library of Australia and with the Department of Prime Minister Cabinet and the National Gallery of Australia. He spent some time in England in the 1970s working in the theatre. On his return to Canberra he became heavily involved (for the long term) with the Canberra Philharmonic Society, chiefly as a set designer.
Thomson documented Australia's performing arts history as an indexer for AusStage and through the development of his own database recording original Australian musicals. He also volunteered in various theatre-related roles including work on the J. C. Williamson photograph collection at the National Library.
Source: 'His World the Stage', Canberra Times, 22 August 2008.
