Samuel Amess was Mayor of Melbourne from 1869–1870, after having joined the council in 1864. Born in Newburgh, Fife

Newburgh, Fife

Newburgh is a royal burgh of Fife, Scotland having a population of 2040 . Newburgh has grown little since 1901 when the population was counted at 1904 persons....

 in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, Amess immigrated to Victoria in 1852, and after success on the goldfields established himself as a building contractor. Among several prominent projects, Amess' firm was involved in the building of the Kew Asylum

Kew Asylum

Kew Lunatic Asylum is a decommissioned psychiatric hospital located between Princess Street and Yarra Boulevard in Kew, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. Operational from 1871 to 1988, Kew was one of the largest asylums ever built in Australia. Later known as Willsmere, the complex of buildings...

, Old Treasury Building

Old Treasury Building, Melbourne

The Old Treasury Building on Spring Street in Melbourne, was once home to the Treasury Department of the Government of Victoria, but is now a museum of Melbourne history, known as the Old Treasury Building.-History:...

 and Customs House

Immigration Museum, Melbourne

The Immigration Museum is a museum primarily displaying Australia's immigration history. It is located on Flinders Street in Melbourne, Victoria, in the Old Customs House...

, and he personally funded the celebrations of the opening of the Melbourne Town Hall

Melbourne Town Hall

Melbourne Town Hall is the central municipal building of the City of Melbourne, Australia, in the State of Victoria. It is located on the northeast corner of Swanston and Collins Streets, in the central business district. It is the seat of the Local Government Area of the City of Melbourne...

. After his term as mayor ended in 1870, Amess remained heavily involved in public life until his death in 1898.