Fairbridge was the daughter of a distinguished lawyer, scholar and Cape Town parliamentarian, and a cousin of Kingsley Fairbridge (18851924; the Rhodesian poet and founder of the Fairbridge Society). She was educated in London and travelled widely.[2][3]

As a highly respected third generation British settler, Fairbridge was a pillar of the colonial establishment. She met with British women from the upper social classes who traveled to South Africa from Britain before and during the Second Boer War. Fairbridge was a founding member of the Guild of Loyal Women, a charitable organisation that encouraged women in South Africa and supported the British Empire and its British Empire forces engaged in conflict. The guild ensured that the relatives of dead soldiers were contacted, and that the graves were properly marked and recorded. When the guild sent members to Britain to explain what they were doing to raise money, women who had the ear of the male British establishment formed the Victoria League to promote links between organisations within the British Empire.