McPhie was born in
Charleville to Hector Kitchener McPhie and Florence Nellie,
née Shanasy. He attended
North Toowoomba State School and
Toowoomba Grammar School before studying at
The King's School in
Parramatta, where he was School Captain in 1947 He then received a Certificate of Agricultural Science from
Queensland Agricultural College, and was later an external student with the
University of New England. After working in the family's stock and station company
McPhie and Co, and for AML and F, he took up land near
Chinchilla where he farmed sheep. In 1957, he crashed a Tiger Moth biplane and spent several years recovering. In 1962, he joined the
Royal Australian Air Force as an air traffic control officer, eventually gaining the rank of
wing commander, and being in charge of all air traffic control for the Australian Air Force, Navy and Army. He retired from the RAAF in 1981 and returned to his hometown of Toowoomba. == Politics ==