[2] After disembarking in Rockhampton, Queensland, he teamed up with fellow Scotsman Walter Lawson and set to work constructing Avonleigh for mining magnate Frederick Augustus Morgan.

[10] For 65 years, the business and workshop stood in the one location on the corner of Fitzroy and East Street in the city centre.

[10] By 1958, R. Cousins & Co. was Rockhampton's oldest existing building firm and had expanded after purchasing the Kalapa Brickworks in 1953.

[10][9] Throughout its history, the company had been responsible for works on buildings such as Kenmore House, the General Hospital, the Glenmore Power Station, Earl's Court Theatre and The Range Convent and High School, among many others.

[11][10] R. Cousins & Co. built the Nurses Quarters at the Rockhampton Hospital which were opened by Bill Moore in 1954 and stood until they were demolished in 2008.

[20] As a special council meeting on 10 August 1929 where the alderman voted for a person to fill the vacancy left by Jeffries' elevation to mayor.

"[21] Jeffries holds the record for the shortest-serving mayor of Rockhampton City Council, and his very brief tenure was reported widely in the national press.

[22] A local Rockhampton resident was inspired by the events to write a poem called The Mayorless City which pondered whether it was time to "have a lady mayor".

[24] With reported hostility and frictions between the political parties, it prompted The Morning Bulletin to remark: "Rockhampton, the second city in Queensland, is still without a mayor.

Between 1930 and 1933, Cousins continued to serve on the council as an alderman and was vocal on such issues as the deteriorating condition of the original Fitzroy Bridge.

[28] Cousins was also appointed as chairman of the council's water supply committee much to the chagrin of his colleague Leonard Haigh.

[35] Although serving as mayor for only a short period, Cousins still managed to attend a number of milestone events.

[2] Cousins was a committee member of the Rockhampton Agricultural Society, Employer's Association, Chamber of Commerce and the General Hospital.

He was also a member of the Rockhampton Musical Union and performed as a violin player with C. Wood's Orchestra for 25 years.

[2] His son Bob Cousins also entered politics and served as an alderman on Rockhampton City Council.