About

Meticulously extracting the finest natural Australian bluestone since 1975. Our bluestone products are available in a variety of finishes and can be tailored to meet the unique requirements of civil, commercial and residential projects across Australia and around the world.

Our Australian Made Story

Our story is centred in historical origins, unique craft, and natural landscapes. A story of discovery, hard work, family and beauty.

The Australian landscape is one of stark contrasts and rugged beauty. The harshness of the environment has woven the natural elements together to forge materials that are tough in formation and stunning in appearance.

The volcanic lava flow of Mount Rouse journeyed down the mountain, across the valley to the coast of Port Fairy in Victoria’s south-west, resting in place for thousands of years as it formed to create Australian basalt bluestone, a stone equal in both strength and beauty.

This rich basalt stone source was discovered by Don and Yvonne Bartlett in 1975. The uniqueness of the stone, and the opportunity that lay within the soil, was the beginning of Bamstone. A quarry facility was erected on the site, where all extraction and pre-processing of raw materials continues to take place.

Bamstone has remained in the family for three generations, with Michael and Cheryl Steel taking over the reins in 2001, and Sam Steel joining the team in 2021. The sense of family is evident throughout the business, we operate with deep pride in all we produce and genuinely value the relationships with customers, partners and each other.

We are intrinsically Australian. Our product and our people. We remain local, placing value and respect on the land. We are dedicated to ensuring the longevity of this natural resource.

BAMSTONE
BAMSTONE
BAMSTONE

Testimonials

It is always a pleasure when working with Bamstone on our projects, Tony and the team have always worked closely with us to achieve the best possible outcome for all things Bluestone. As a contractor it is reassuring knowing that when we order Bluestone from Bamstone, we are consistently getting a superior product time after time.

Jayden Weatherley - Director, Greener Visions

As a stonemason, I have found no other bluestone product that ticks all the boxes. Bamstone Australian bluestone is a product that has limitless applications. It transposes itself through the ages from period to contemporary concepts while sustaining durability and integrity. The care and detail performed by Bamstone in their product excavation, production, and client services is what set’s this long-standing brand apart and keeps us going back for more. O’Connor and Sons use Bamstone as a preferred supplier of basalt bluestone as their limitless range of products attain the quality and workmanship one requires to stay ahead and set new limits in the construction industry.

Tim O'Connor - O'Connor and Sons

As architects and designers we are always looking to create timeless homes which will stand the test of time. Choosing the materiality when designing the Quarry House was made easy as we knew the quality and consistency of Bamstone bluestone would see the home sit proudly for many years to come.

Alex Ferrier - Finnis Architects

I am delighted to have an opportunity to provide a testimonial for Bamstone, and do so with great enthusiasm for all that this company does and stands for. As a family owned and operated Victorian enterprise, Bamstone have been supplying quality bluestone products to architects and designers, the construction industry and to its many clients since 1975.

I recently had the opportunity to work directly with the Bamstone team on a new art museum project in Melbourne's eastern suburbs. I was keen to clad the building in a 100% natural material; one that would convey a sense of timelessness and permanence and which would also be read as quintessentially ‘Melbourne’. And the choice was easy – bluestone from Bamstone.

The facades and soffits in the new building design are faced with bluestone slabs in a diamond saw finish, set out in a stretcher bond pattern. The slabs feature subtle ‘catspaw’ vesiculations which reinforce the natural qualities of the stone and evidence its creation more than 300,000 years ago!

The facade designs also feature more than 13,000 bluestone ‘cylinders’ which project out from the facade wall, producing a three-dimensional, sculptural effect as light moves across the building at different times of the day. These cylinders were individually cored by Bamstone from solid blocks of bluestone material.

As part of my initial research for the project I was invited to visit the company’s facilities at Port Fairy and was given a comprehensive tour of each step in the stone cutting and manufacturing process – watching impossibly large basalt boulders being sliced into thin layers using gigantic circular and band saws, flat sheets cut into rectangular slabs and then finished to the specifications of each client.

Throughout the whole project, the Bamstone team’s advice and support was always readily at hand – from initial stone selection, ordering and transport to quality control visits during the installation of the stone on site.

The completed building has been an unqualified success and its unique bluestone cladding has been widely admired by architects and designers and by people who pass through its doors.

It is a rare opportunity to be able to so positively endorse a local Victorian enterprise such as this - one that delivers the highest quality products, provides outstanding service and most importantly demonstrates an enthusiastic commitment to its clients and to their many and varied projects. I count myself very pleased to be among them.

Corbett Lyon - Director, Lyons Architects 

Bluestone is our most popular paver thanks to its timeless bluish-grey tones, durability, and high-end quality. This expanse of stone and repeated pattern throughout the paving is easily the showpiece of this outdoor area. We have enjoyed working with Bamstone on many projects over the years and developed great friendships. We can’t speak highly enough of their service, professionalism & quality stone. The team always go out of their way to help and work closely with you on projects. The different tones and grains add so much character to projects, which look even better over time. 

Chris Drew - Kings Landscaping

Cox Architecture worked closely with the team at Bamstone in delivering our design vision for the Melbourne Central Tower lobby redevelopment project. Bluestone was used extensively as the key material across the ground plane and internal/external wall cladding. The team were able to prototype and work with us and the team at Built to achieve the complex stepped curved bluestone pieces that are used across the entire façade and landscaped public realm.

This was enhanced with the use of both sawn & blasted bluestone in different stone thickness to create the playful & layered wall cladding system which compliments the other warm materials of timber & anodized aluminum used in the lobby.

We enjoyed working with the team at Bamstone and will continue to use their products on future projects.

Johannes Lupolo-Chan - Associate, Cox Architecture

Thank you Bamstone for continually supplying us with some of the most beautiful stones in the world. It is a pleasure to deal with a company where nothing is too difficult and staff are always helpful and friendly. Kiama Landscapes & Pools greatly appreciate your ever-evolving creativity and originality and look forward to many more years of business together.

Stephen Lloyd & Tim Sprague - Kiama Landscapes & Pools

One of the important lessons learned by us after 40 years as building masons in Victoria is choose your suppliers wisely. For first-grade geology, service and sheer technical ability, Bamstone sets all the standards.

Cam Freeden - Director, Peninsula Stonemasons Group

I believe the success of this exhibit is largely attributable to Bamstone’s products and attention to detail. Bamstone’s Bluestone is the finest tone, texture and color on the market and their direction in innovation and product development is outstanding. I know I can create individual landscapes knowing that the team at Bamstone are capable of meeting the types of design requirements that their competitors are not.

 Mark Browning Landscape Design & Consultancy

Oxigen strongly supports the use of local materials and manufacturing in their projects. We celebrate Australian sourced bluestone as a local product and the benefits this brings to our clients and our communities in respect to sense of place and local employment and economic growth.

Over many years bluestone has proved a unique paving and building material. It's natural properties of slip resistance, ease of working, durability, cost effectiveness and aesthetics has been foremost in its continuing use on many contemporary public realm projects in Australia. We feel lucky that this continuity and on-going consistency in supply enables us to specify bluestone with the certainty of supply and strong customer relationships. 

Oxigen congratulates Bamstone on its business ethics and support to the landscape profession in Australia. We look forward to continued association and collaboration in realising the potential of this Australian-sourced unique and exemplar product.

James Hayter - Director, Oxigen Landscape Architects and Urban Designers

At ArchiPro we recognise and acknowledge the existing, original and ancient connection Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have to the lands and waterways across the Australian continent. We pay our respects to the elders past and present. We commit to working together to build a prosperous and inclusive Australia.