Peg Maltby was born Agnes Newberry Orchard on January 17,1899 Her family always called her Peg, and the name stayed with her throughout her life.
Peg and her husband George migrated to Australia in 1924 and lived in Victoria all their lives. Peg passed away in 1984.
In their earlier days, living in Coburg during the Great Depression, Peg supplemented the family income by painting commercial items like chocolate box lids and birthday cards. She became a member of the Victorian Artists' Society and had some successful exhibitions of her fairy paintings. Her biggest success came in 1946 when Murfett published her extremely successful 'Peg's Fairy Book'. Peg produced over 40 children's books, many nursery rhymes and fairy related work.