[6] Reeve purchased land at Shark Beach from Wentworth and commissioned the architect John Frederick Hilly to build Greycliffe, which was completed circa 1852.

Instead, the house was leased to a string of prominent Sydney citizens, including, initially, Colonel John George Nathaniel Gibbes (1787-1873), MLC, the then Collector of Customs for NSW.

The house provided an ideal vantage point for Gibbes, as he could watch the movements of shipping on Sydney Harbour's main channel from its north-facing verandah.

Gibbes and his wife, Elizabeth, dwelt at Greycliffe until 1859—when he retired from the Customs Service and they moved to their new home, Yarralumla homestead, in what is now the capital city of Canberra.

As it stands today, Greycliffe is a large, elaborate and well-preserved neo-Gothic Victorian house which retains unobstructed water views across to the northern shore of Sydney Harbour.