Frederick William Furkert
Frederick William Furkert (1876-1949)
1950 Obituary [1]
"FREDERICK WILLIAM FURKERT, C.M.G., had a distinguished reer in New Zealand, his services as a prominent engineer being of great value to his native country. He had been in the service of the Public Works Department for thirty-nine years.
He was born in 1876, and was educated at the Hokitika High School, Wellington Technical College, and at Otago University. He began, in 1894, to serve a four years' apprenticeship as a cadet in the Public Works Department, where he gained experience in railway construction and road surveying. He then successively occupied positions as assistant, resident, and district engineer.
He was made inspecting engineer in 1913, and seven years later was promoted to be engineer-in-chief and under-secretary. Amongst his outstanding achievements were the construction of the North Island Main Trunk Railway, the Otago Irrigation Scheme, and the Otira Tunnel, five and a half miles long.
After his retirement from public service in 1938 Mr. Furkert went into practice as a consulting engineer; he continued, however, to act in an advisory capacity to the Public Works Department and the Ministry of Works. He was elected an Associate Member of the Institution in 1912, and was transferred to Membership in 1936. He was also a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, to which body he was elected a Member of Council in 1932. In 1926 he was created C.M.G.
His death occurred at Wellington, N.Z., on 26th September 1949."
1949 Obituary [2]