[3] He became a professional entertainer and made his first appearance in amateur trials at the Prince Edward Theatre, Auckland at the age of 11, singing "It Ain't Gonna Rain No More", and won the competition prize of 10 shillings.

[4][5] When Quartly was around the age of 16 he moved to Sydney and joined the "big touring musical shows of Sir Benjamin Fuller".

[7] In 1933 Quartly appeared as a comedian in a series of plays at the Tivoli Theatre in Broken Hill in the far west of New South Wales: Walter George's Sunshine Players, Keep Smilin, Leave It At That and Step Lively.

[12] Quartly took the lead role when in 1966 The Town of Make Believe was renamed Fun Fair and given a new time slot of 2 pm on Saturday.

[18][19] Among his many activities, Quartly played an important role in the early development of children's television in Australia, with Geoff Allen in the Sydney Morning Herald dubbing him a "Pied Piper".

He would perform for charity each week, including for the North Rocks Centre for Deaf and Blind Children[6] and regularly opening and compering suburban events such as fetes and pet shows.