Colonel Gibbes persuaded the then Governor of NSW, Sir George Gipps, to begin construction of the building in 1844 as an unemployment relief measure during an economic deepression which was afflicting the colony at the time.
Colonel Gibbes persuaded the then Governor of NSW, Sir George Gipps, to begin construction of the Customs House in 1844 in response to Sydney's growing volume of maritime trade. The building project also doubled as an unemployment relief measure during an economic deepression which was afflicting the colony at the time.