Bartlett was born in Blenheim, and grew up across the road from the town's main cricket ground, Horton Park.
[2] The Australian captain, Ian Craig, described facing him in the first match of the series in Wellington: "I saw Bartlett let go of the ball, but the first I knew of where it had gone was the sound of it hitting the gloves yards behind me.
"[3] Bartlett moved to Canterbury for the 1963–64 season where he was a member of the West Christchurch University club team.
He was one of the leading players in the Plunket Shield in 1965–66, scoring 228 runs at an average of 32.57 and taking 20 wickets at 19.65.
[12][13][14][15][16][11] During the Christchurch Test in 1968 the Indian bowler Syed Abid Ali protested against Bartlett's action by blatantly throwing the ball himself.