Intercolonial. Queensland, Freeman's Journal, Sydney, 26 February 1862, p 5, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article115761091:

In the Roman Catholic community, the chief event of the past month, was the religious profession of a nun, Miss Eliza Maria McAuliffe of Cork; in religion, Sister Mary Cecilia Vincent, who made her vows in the Order of the Sisters of Mercy on Monday, 3rd February. […] The Bishop was assisted during the ceremony by the Rev. P. Duhig, and Rev. R. Cusse.

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Parliamentary Blue Book. Ecclesiastical Return for the Year 1862. Roman Catholic Church, Sydney Mail, 18 July 1863, p 7, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article166652427:

Supported by Voluntary Contributions. [...] Newcastle—Rev. C. D. Coghlan, Rev. R. Cusse

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To Builders, Freeman's Journal, Sydney, 29 August 1863, p 7, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article115426883:

Tenders are required for Building a Roman Catholic Church at Newcastle, where the plans and specifications may be seen on application to the Rev. R. Cusse, until the 15th Sept., and after that date at the office of Mr. Munro, architect, 64, Pitt-street, North, Sydney.
The tenders to be delivered to the above addresses at Newcastle, or at Sydney, on or before the 30th September.

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The Newcastle Chronicle and Hunter River District News, 9 March 1864, p 2, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article128922244:

We regret to state that, on Monday evening, an accident befell the Rev. R. Cusse, Roman Catholic clergyman of this city. The reverend gentleman, it appears, had been partaking of tea on board the French ship Melanie, alongside the Queen's Wharf, and, in coming on shore, missed his footing and fell into the water. Although be was rescued from his perilous position as soon as possible, he was considerably shaken by the unseasonable dip, and some time elapsed before he could be pronounced convalescent. We are glad to learn from later enquiries that the consequences are not likely to be serious.

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Death of the Rev. Father Cusse, The Newcastle Chronicle, 8 September 1866, p 2, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article128916316:

The Rev. John Reni Gustavus Cusse, expired after a long illness, borne with Christian fortitude, at his residence, on Thursday evening last, at eight o'clock. Father Cusse has been a great sufferer from dropsy, and has undergone five operations. The last one was performed by Dr. Bowker so recently as Wednesday, the day previous to his demise. Father Cusse was born at Niems, in the south of France, and was about forty-six years of age. The greater part of his life was spent in the sacred ministry. He was of the order of the Assumpsion, a modification of the Augustinian order. In his native country he was a very distinguished professor of natural philosophy and chemistry, and was much esteemed by Cardinal Gousset, and several French ecclesiastics of higher rank. He came to Australia with Dr. Quinn, of Brisbane, with a view of establishing a branch of his order in this country, but he was obliged to leave Queensland on account of the excessive heat not agreeing with his constitution. Since his arrival in this colony he has had the care of the Newcastle mission, and under his care the splendid church and school in this city have been erected, and many valuable improvements have been added to the Presbytery. He was greatly beloved by his parishioners, and was very much esteemed by all his neighbouring Catholic clergymen. He was considered one of the best-informed clergymen of their communion in the colonies, and the elegant hospitality at all times dispensed by him attracted many of his fellow-clergymen to Newcastle. The affection borne by them to him was strongly manifested during his long and painful illness, by their frequent enquiries and visits. Father Cusse being a foreigner had a great difficulty in making himself clearly understood by his congregation by having to address them in the English language. He was, nevertheless, much respected and revered by the members of the church with which he has been so long connected. His remains were removed to the church last evening, and were placed near the altar, where they will remain till to-day. He will be interred soon after the Requiem Mass, which will commence at eleven o'clock. A brick vault has been built on the south side of the entrance to the church, and it is proposed to erect there a monument to his memory.

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Death of the Rev. R. Cusse, The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser, 11 September 1866, p 3, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18724246:

It is with extreme regret that we (Standard) have to announce the death of the Rev. R. Cusse, priest of the Catholic Church in this city, which took place on Thursday evening at eight o'clock. The rev. gentleman had for the last six months suffered from severe indisposition of the liver, that finally developed itself in the form of dropsy, for which he underwent no less than five operations within the last two months. Nature at length sank under the effects of a disease which from its earliest stage Dr. Bowker, who attended his patient with unremitting care from first to last, pronounced incurable. Father Cusse has been incapacitated from active duty for some months, but whenever he felt the least better he would insist upon officiating in the church, though his doing so was entirely opposed to the injunction of his medical adviser, and the earnest entreaties of his friends. He suffered the most acute agony throughout the greater part of his long illness ; but when the moment of his dissolution arrived he surrendered his soul into the hands of his Creator without a struggle.

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Country News. Funeral of the Rev. R. Cusse, Freeman's Journal, Sydney, 22 September 1866, p 595, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article115453882:

The remains of the much-respected pastor of the Catholic congregation in this city were consigned to the tomb on Saturday with all the imposing ceremonies prescribed for such solemn occasions by the ritual of the church of which he was so zealous a member. The shell in which the body was enclosed, until the leaden and other coffin were completed, covered with a black velvet pall, was laid upon a catafalque draped with black a short distance inside the porch of the church. At the head of the coffin were placed the chalice and paten used in the celebration of mass, and round them a white scarf or stole descending, with the ends crossed, towards the foot. On either side of the coffin were placed alternately wax tapers and vases of flower —the latter kindly presented by Mr. Bolton and Mr. Kemp. The altar was draped with black, the ante-pendlum, or cloth, suspended in front of it, having a large white cross upon it, which was also the case with the black cloth covering the west window in the chancel ; the candlesticks upon the altar were covered with black, as well as the windows in the church, except the two nearest the entrance, which were left open in order to admit sufficient light into the interior.

At eleven o'clock the Very Rev. S. A. Sheehy, Vicar-General and Administrator of the Archdiocese of Sydney, who performed the office of celebrant, accompanied by the Rev. Messrs. Keating, Quinlivan, Kenny, Phelan, and Sage, proceeded from the vestry and took their places on chairs placed for them in the church, just outside the chancel. Matins and Lauds for the dead, consisting principally of a number of appropriate psalms with lessons selected from the book of Job were then sung (the whole service of the day being in Latin) in the style known as plain chant or gregorian. The composition of this description of music, is very ancient, and owed its origin to Ambrosius, Archbishop of Milan, in the fourth century, who brought the traditional chants then used in the church into form, and based them upon established rules. Two centuries later Pope Gregory carried it to such perfection that in its peculiar style it needed no further improvement, and is allowed by musicians to be one of the noblest monuments that the art has produced, but it requires a large and well-trained choir to do it proper justice. At the conclusion of Matins and Lauds, Mass for the Dead was celebrated, and the Rev. S. A. Sheehy afterwards informed the congregation that the interment would take at two o'clock in the afternoon instead of immediately after mass, as had been intended. It was understood that the postponement of the funeral was caused in consequence of the lead and outer coffin not having arrived, and the grave, which is situated on the left hand of the steps entering the church, not being completed. Although the time for the funeral to take place was announced to be two o'clock, it was three before the arrangements were completed and the public admitted in the church, which was completely thronged, both in the morning and afternoon, by persons of all religious denominations who had assembled to pay the last tribute of respect to the departed clergyman.

At three o'clock the burial service was proceeded with in the same order as if it had taken place immediately after the Requiem Mass. The Vicar-General, habited in a black cope or cloak, preceded by the cross-bearer and other assistants, stood at the head of the bier with two acolytes, bearing lighted candles. The celebrant proceeded to the foot of the coffin, accompanied by two acolytes, one bearing a vase containing holy water and the brush for sprinkling it, and the other the censor and box containing frankincense. The celebrant then recited a prayer, followed by an antiphon, and made the circuit of the coffin, sprinkling it as he went round, and afterwards incensed it with the thurible in like manner, repeating the Lord's Prayer during the time. Having finished the sprinkling and incensing of the body, a number of versicles and responses were repeated, together with the following prayer for the soul of the departed: — "O God, whose property it is always to have mercy and to spare, we humbly beseech Thee to have mercy on the soul of Thy priest and servant Rene Gustavus, whom Thou hast decreed to depart out of this world, suffer him not to be given up into the hands of the enemy, nor to forget him even unto the end, but command him to be received by Thy angels and carried to the land of Paradise ; and because he loved and believed in Thee, condemn him not to endure the pains of hell, but grant that he may possess eternal life, through Christ our Lord. Amen." At the end of this prayer the coffin was removed from the church, the clergy chanting the antiphon — "May the angels conduct thee into Paradise, may the martyrs received thee on thy arrival there, and lead thee into the city of the heavenly Jerusalem ; may a chorus of angels welcome thee, and with Lazarus, once poor, -mayest thou have eternal rest. Amen" On arriving at the grave the coffin was lowered into it, and after a prayer the coffin was sprinkled with holy water aud incensed, aud the antiphon, "I am the resurrection and the life, &c., was repeated, followed by other prayers contained in the burial service.

The procession then returned to the church, repeating the antiphon, "If Thou O Lord shalt mark iniquities, Lord, who shall withstand it?" the psalm "Out of the depths;" and the antiphon, "Eternal rest give to him, O Lord, and let perpetual light fall upon him." The church was filled with people after the funeral, most of whom appeared to expect a sermon, but none was given. On Sunday (the following day), however, the Very Rev. S. A. Sheehy preached eloquently on Death, in which, after alluding in a most touching manner to the death of the pastor of the congregation then assembled, and his own dear friend and brother priest, he reminded his hearers of the necessity of being always prepared for the coming of the Son of Man, and not be like the five foolish virgins who went out to meet him with no oil in their lamps, who were told to depart for he knew them not. We understand that no permanent appointment of a clergyman in the Rev. R. Cusse's place will be made until the arrival of the Catholic Bishop of Maitland, who is expected in two or three months, but that in the meantime the Rev. Mr. Dunn, formerly of Raymond Terrace, will perform duty here — Newcastle Standard, Sept. 12.

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Fr T.J. Linane, From Abel to Zundolovich, Vol. 2: Biographies of Priests on the Australian Scene up to 1900, 1980, p 120:

Cusse, Rene, A.A., French
Many and Varied Talents
A.A. doesn't stand for 'Alcoholics Anonymous' but for Augustinian of the Assumption, a French Order and a few members of which were co-opted for service in Brisbane by Bishop James Quinn. Rene's father was a wealthy merchant and the Cusse family had been active on the side of the Girondists in the French Revolution. He arrived in Brisbane with Bishop Quinn in 1861. He was appointed in that year President of a diocesan seminary, but something went wrong in the relationship with the difficult Bishop. (Others were bailing out, also, in this period of strained relationships). Mgr. Patrick Hartigan in 'The Men of '38', p. 72, takes up the story: "Fr. Christopher Dowling OP gave up active work altogether in 1861 (this should be 1862 or 1863), and Newcastle was taken by Fr. Rene Cusse, a French priest ... The famous phrase of their hapless heroine (referring to the Girondists), Madame Roland, "Oh, Liberty, what crimes are committed in thy name!" was ever on his family's lips when the occasion warranted. ... Cusse was the church builder, an eminent scholar, a noted linguist, a fine musician, and, over all, he proved himself an earnest and devoted pastor during the four years of his short but fruitful ministry". Early in 1866 Rene suffered an illness, cirrhosis of the liver, which confined him to bed for six months. He died on 6 September of that year at the age of 44. Archpriest Sheehy V.G. assisted at his Requiem and burial in the Newcastle Churchyard two days later.
(Footprints, Vol. 3, No. 5)
Information: As quoted & Sr. F.X. O'Donoghue RSM, Bris.

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Denis M. Long, Pioneer and Early Priests, Archdiocese of Brisbane, Deceased or retired by 1929, 2021, p 8:
Fr John René Gustavus Cusse

Pere René Cusse, a French Augustinian of the Assumption priest, arrived in Brisbane with Bishop Quinn on 10 May 1861. He was accompanied by a fellow Assumptionist Father Tissot and a Spanish lay brother Francisco Gavette. Fr Cusse spent a year in the diocese ministering in Brisbane and Ipswich, assisting Fr McGinty who was in dispute with the Bishop.

After clashing with Bishop Quinn and Dr Cani, Fr Cusse left the diocese for Sydney and was appointed to Newcastle where he died 6 September 1866, at the age of 45.

Neil Byrne, in his life of Archbishop Robert Dunne writes:

In 1860, he (Bishop Quinn) had signed an agreement with the superior general of the Assumptionists to accept a select group of amenable French religious into his diocese for ten years. They were to begin by doing missionary work but later establish a religious house of their own. However, Quinn had no intention of honouring the last clause. He made it impossible for the few Assumptionists in his diocese to have any kind of community life by stationing them in missions hundreds of kilometres apart. He knew that a religious order of men was better equipped to defend themselves against episcopal interference than their female counterparts. Father Rene Cusse, a quick tempered Assumptionist in Brisbane, exclaimed: ‘Nuns are nuns, and all they can do is cry – but Father Cusse is like a porcupine … and the bishop knows what to expect’.
In 1862 Cusse left the diocese in disgust. His final act of defiance was to encourage the people of Ipswich to support their deposed pastor, Father William McGinty, who had been placed under interdict by Quinn for refusing to relinquish control of the Ipswich parish funds.(1)

Yvonne McLay in her life of James Quinn relates:

The Order was small, having been founded at Nîmes by Pere D’Alzon, Vicar General of that diocese. As members of a small religious order the Frenchmen found difficulty in pursuing their community life under Quinn’s all-encompassing diocesan organization.
Unlike the Italian and German priests who came later, their French nationality did not arouse hostility among the Irish in Queensland, perhaps because they were unaccompanied by French immigrants. Their almost entire unacquaintance with English, on the other hand, did cause difficulties. Rene Cusse only stayed one year. He came from a family of Girondists, involved in French Revolutionary activities, and was hot-headed himself and prone to exaggeration. Quinn had found him continually discontented and murmuring against everything. Within one month from his arrival he was asking permission to return. Though living in the same house as the bishop, the priest had written him several letters of complaints. Quinn passed them on to his consulters, who counselled the bishop to allow him to depart. ……… Underlying their (the Assumptionists) trouble was their inability to form a community. Cusse - and the lay brother – had been sent to Ipswich, where he was replaced by Brun (sic).(2)

Late in 1862 Peré Cussé moved to Dr Polding’s realm and was stationed in Newcastle. On 24 December 1863 the governor of New South Wales granted John Gustavus Rene Cusse, aged 41 years, citizenship in that colony with all the rights and capacities within the said Colony of New South Wales, of a natural born British Subject.(3)

The story of Fr Cussé’s time in Newcastle was recorded when his death was mentioned in an article in the Newcastle Morning Herald in 1946.

Pioneer Priest 80 Years Dead
Today is the anniversary of the death of Rev Father John Rene Gustavus Cusse – a colonial pioneer of the Catholic Church. He died at Newcastle on 6 September 1866.
Father Cusse was born in Nìmes (France) 45 years earlier, and had spent the greater part of his life in the priesthood. He was of the Order of the Assumption, a modification of the Augustinian Order. In his native country, he was a distinguished professor of natural philosophy and chemistry.
He came to Australia with Dr Quinn to establish a branch of his Order in this country, but had to leave Queensland because of the heat (sic).
He was given an appointment in Newcastle. Under his care, St Mary’s Catholic Church and school were erected, and many improvements were added to the presbytery by him.
The remains of Father Cusse were interred in a brick vault on the southern side of the main entrance to St Mary’s in Perkins Street, and a monument to his memory was erected there. In recent years, the memorial was removed to enable alterations to the front of the church to be carried out. The work incorporated a dwarf wall near the steps. On a slab of marble let into the centre of the walls is this inscription above the grave of the priest:
‘Of your charity, pray for the soul of the Rev Rene Cusse,
who departed this life September 6, 1866: aged 45 years’ (4)

Footnotes
1. Neil J Byrne, Robert Dune - Archbishop of Brisbane, 1991, p. 61.
2. Yvonne Margaret McLay, James Quinn – First Catholic Bishop of Brisbane, 1979, pp. 78 to 80.
3. New South Wales, Australia, Certificates of Naturalization, 1849-1903 for John Gustavus Rene Cusse.
4. Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, Newcastle, 6 Sep 1946, p. 6.

Reproduced by permission of Fr Denis Long.