He was born at Sailors Falls near Daylesford to goldminer Henry Bradbury and Catherine Otten.
He attended state school at Williamstown and worked as an accountant and builder.
From 1938 he farmed at Shepparton breeding Guernsey cattle; he moved to Wangaratta in 1953.
He was an active member of the Country Party, serving as president of the Katandra branch and secretary of the party council for the state electorate of Murray Valley and the federal electorate of Indi.
In 1953 he was elected to the Victorian Legislative Council for North Eastern Province.