Frederick William Furkert (14 October 1876 – 26 September 1949) was a New Zealand engineer. He joined the Public Works Department

New Zealand Ministry of Works

The New Zealand Ministry of Works, formerly the Department of Public Works and sometimes referred to as the Public Works Department or PWD, was founded in 1876 and disestablished and privatised in 1988...

 in 1894, and was engineer-in-chief of the PWD for twelve years from 1920 until he retired in 1933.

Major projects he was responsible for included for the New Zealand Railways Department

New Zealand Railways Department

The New Zealand Railways Department, NZR or NZGR and often known as the "Railways", was a government department charged with owning and maintaining New Zealand's railway infrastructure and operating the railway system. The Department was created in 1880 and was reformed in 1981 into the New...

 the North Island Main Trunk Railway (completed 1908), the Otira Tunnel

Otira Tunnel

The Otira Tunnel is a railway tunnel on the Midland Line in the South Island of New Zealand between Otira and Arthur's Pass. It runs under the Southern Alps from Arthur's Pass to Otira - a length of over . The gradient is mainly 1 in 33, and the Otira end of the tunnel is over lower than the...

 (completed 1923) and the Tawa Flat deviation

Tawa Flat deviation

The Tawa Flat deviation is a double-track section of the North Island Main Trunk Railway just north of Wellington, New Zealand. It includes two tunnels, Tawa No. 1 and Tawa No. 2 , separated by the Ngauranga Gorge. No. 2 tunnel passes under Newlands and comes out at Glenside, on the way to Tawa...

 (completed 1935). He was also responsible for hydroelectric dam projects like the Waitaki Dam (completed 1935).

He worked with the Standards Institute on the draughting of building bylaws. He was a Wellington City Councillor when he died.

He was born in Ross, Westland and died in Wellington.