Sue Chessbrough was born in Wagga Wagga and grew up on her father's rice farm near Griffith. She has made regular visits to her daughter and her family on the Greek island of Skyros and has written of these cross-cultural experiences. She has also written historical work: A Spread of Green : Griffith, its people and past events (1984) and, with Yvonne McBurney, Railway to Burrinjuck (1986).