Maurice Bernard Houghton Print Page

The bust commemorates United States businessman Maurice Bernard Houghton for his involvement in the Kings Cross community and his charitable donations. 

Maurice Bernard Houghton, known as Bernie Houghton, (1920 - 2000) was a US businessman with links to the US intelligence community, including involvement in the CIA-connected Sydney, Australia based Nugan Hand Bank in the 1970s. He settled in Sydney in 1967, and founded several bars in Kings Cross, Sydney, becoming a significant enough local figure to have a bust erected in his honour in 2002.

After Houghton's death in 2000, a plinth was erected in Sydney's Fitzroy Gardens in his honour in July 2002, with a sculpture of Houghton's head by a local artist. The move, partly in recognition of Houghton's circa $1.5m charitable donations, was approved by South Sydney Council. Its mayor at the time said that it was because of Bernie that the King's Cross community was "vibrant, alive, and so diverse"

Location

Address:	Darlinghurst Road & Macleay Street, Fitzroy Gardens, Kings Cross , 2011
State:	NSW
Area:	Foreign
GPS Coordinates:	Lat: -33.872319 Long: 151.225407 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.

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Details

Monument Type:	Sculpture
Monument Theme:	People
Sub-Theme:	Community

Dedication

Approx. Monument Dedication Date:	July-2002

Source: MA