Christine Corby was born in Sydney in 1953 to Irene Thorne from Collarenebri Cyril Sulman from England. They lived in Blacktown in Sydney's north west. In 1954, when Cyril and Irene visited Walgett, Cyril took his Aboriginal brothers-in-law out for a drink and was arrested and gaoled for supplying alcohol to Aboriginal people.
Corby returned to live in Walgett with her daughter in 1975 and was offered a job with the Walgett Aboriginal Legal Service. She has worked to help alleviate the racism and inconsistencies within in the law regarding Aboriginal people.