Gunhild Uta Francke grew up in Silesia, Germany, in a village near the Polish-Czechoslovakian border. She received her schooling from 1943 to 1954 in Germany and Sweden. In 1945 she fled with her family from the advance of the Russian Army into Eastern Germany then westwards to Bavaria. Francke obtained an International Diploma in Photography (London) in 1960 and in 1968, her A. Mus. A in Pianoforte from Perth. In 1980 she gained the qualification of Accredited NAATI Translator and Interpreter, Level 3. She has worked as a teacher of pianoforte and as a translator and interpreter for the Telephone Interpreting Service, Perth. Francke has published in English.