Daughter of Nancy Cato (q.v.) and Eldred Norman, Bronley grew up in Hope Valley, and started writing while still in primary school. She was educated at Presbyterian Girls' College 1949-1960, then trained at the Adelaide Kindergarten Training College 1961-1963. She worked in kindergartens and nursery schools in Australia, England, the United States and Canada before deciding to quit teaching for good. She worked in the tourism industry for a while and lives at Tewantin, Noosa, working for Telstra and writing plays.
Bronley began writing seriously in 1980, mainly one-act plays. Several have been staged by Little Theatre groups. She has been involved with Little Theatre (mainly as Prompt, Stage Manager or Set Construction/Props), and became a member of Playlab in 1985.