He began his nautical career on the sailing ship of his uncle.

[1] During a visit to Germany, his Australian bank went bankrupt, and he became suddenly destitute.

Between 1902 and 1914, he was a technical crew member on all four German Turfan expeditions headed by Albert Grünwedel and Albert von Le Coq.

Bartus developed a method of detaching mural paintings and inscriptions from caves, rock walls, and ruins, leaving them largely undamaged, which were then transported to Germany.

Until his death, he was employed at the museum, preparing and preserving the finds he brought back from Turfan.