Simon Bray was born in St Arnaud, Victoria. His father William Bray, 1839, was native of St Austell, Cornwall; his mother Mary Ann Bray, 1869, was born at Carapooee, Victoria. William Bray was twice married, Simon being the penultimate of twenty children.
Simon Bray was a prominent athlete and leader in football and cricket at his schools, St Arnaud State and High, and St Patrick's College, Ballarat. The award of the chemistry medal of the Pharmaceutical Society of Victoria in 1922, preceded his diploma of pharmacy with honours in 1923. He returned to St Patrick's College for matriculation, entered Newman College, the University of Melbourne, and graduated MB BS, with honours in 1930.
During terms as resident medical officer and registrar at St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne in 1931 and 1932, his mature mind and shrewd common sense impressed his seniors and contemporaries. In the process of qualifying for the MRCP in 1935, Dr Bray suffered an embarrassing setback. As a student he was keen to be abreast of the latest advances in diagnosis and treatment. In the clinical examination he was presented with a case of bronchiectasis. For treatment he advised lobectomy. A conservative co-examinee successfully recommended a sojourn in Egypt. Study at the Maudsley Hospital and residency at Colny Hatch Asylum helped his acquisition of DPM. His remaining time abroad was devoted to diseases of the lungs, especially tuberculosis, at Brompton Hospital London and leading chest clinics in Scandinavia.
Dr Bray returned to Melbourne in 1936, as consulting physician and practised at 33 Collins Street. In the few years he was spared, he established a reputation which not many could attain in a life time. His great skill, sympathetic understanding of human nature and buoyant disposition endeared him to his patients, and gained their absolute confidence. He established x-ray facilities in his rooms as part of routine medical examination. Satisfied patients were heard to exclaim: 'Dr Bray not only examined me from head to foot, he x-rayed me as well'. He was an outstanding teacher. His lectures and demonstrations at St Vincent's Hospital, where he held the post of honorary physician to outpatients and assistant pathologist, were enthusiastically acclaimed. To the members of his class he gave infinite attention. His success was based on astute and careful observation, and on wisdom and knowledge which made his teaching a model of clarity and truth.
His business interests included a shareholding in the Wensley-Bray Coal Mine at Winchelsea. His father was concerned with mining, being at one time director of the New Bendigo Mine at St Arnaud. Dr Bray was unmarried and lived with his younger sister, Ursula. His death was instantaneous in a motor car accident on his way to visit a patient. Following his requiem in St Patrick's Cathedral, Dr Simon Bray was buried in St Arnaud, his native town for which he held a deep affection.