 Described as "the last of the corned beef and damper coppers", Stevenson made a name for himself as a horseman, cattleman and bushman.He gained notoriety in 1950 at the northern township of Coen for tracking down on horseback a group of 12 Aborigines wanted for questioning over the murder of an indigenous police boy.In 1965 he was promoted to detective sergeant and named officer-in-charge of the CIB stock squad based in Charters Towers.