He taught art at various New South Wales country high schools before taking up a posting in 1971 to teach at the primary school at Papunya, a remote Aboriginal settlement 250 km west of Alice Springs.
Eric Michaels comments on this in his essay Bad Aboriginal Art: "... [directed by Bardon, the elders] began to interact with certain issues in 1960s and 70s international painting, especially the extreme schematisation of New York minimalism.
The artistic movement unleashed at Papunya spread over Central Australia and has since achieved international acclaim.
Eventually, Bardon suffered a nervous breakdown and upon his return to Sydney underwent a period of deep sleep therapy with the controversial psychiatrist Harry Bailey, which left him weakened.
He was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1988 for service to the preservation and development of traditional Aboriginal art forms.