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 .