Christine McCaffrie was born in Braidwood NSW. She lived there until the age of fourteen when her family moved to Canberra, where she completed high school. A teaching career that followed saw her working in western Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and London. Along the way she acquired two degrees, a Bachelor of Education and a Bachelor of Arts with Honours, in history. She has travelled extensively and lived at various times in London, Newport Rhode Island and Washington DC. Now retired, she lives in Canberra with her husband, Jack. They have two daughters and a son.