PUBLIC WORKS CHIEF

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21332, 5 November 1932, Page 10

PUBLIC WORKS CHIEF

The retirement of Mr. F. W. Furkert from the position of UnderSecretary of the Public Works Department and engineer-in-chief takes place at a time of national stocktaking and the severe contraction of the activities of his department. No longer are funds available to continue operations on a scale comparable with that which was regarded as normal during the years of plenty. Railway construction is practically at a standstill and in every other sphere of development by the engineer there is of necessity a slowing down which will have to continue for some years. Naturally, there is a disposition to count the cost of the intensely progressive Public Works policy of the past and to dwell upon the results of the heavy borrowing involved. But that should not be allowed to obscure the high service rendered to the country by Mr. Furkert, upon whose shoulders fell the task of carrying out the extravagant demands of the people s representatives at a time when there seemed no bottom to the public purse. No single official has left a more enduring monument to his labours than has Mr. Furkert in the great national utilities of the Dominion. Few men have carried greater responsibilities and his efficient mind is materialised in the standard of work that has been maintained by the Public "\V ovks Department in all its branches. For the greater part of his term costs of all kinds were exceedingly high, and while his department cannot be absolved from the charge of spending too lavishly, it must be remembered that the atmosphere of the times was an influence against economy and that political pressure was no help to'the chief executive. In addition to controlling the State programme of public works Mr. Furkert was frequently called to the aid of local authorities and commissions, and his professional judgment and skill were always relied upon. His reputation as an engineer is recognised abroad and the endorsement of his opinions by Professor Ilornell, the Swedish authority, in regard to the remedial measures necessary at Arapuni indicates his status in the engineering world. Ilis successor, Mr. C. J. McKenzie, who lias long been his lieutenant, inherits a great professional tradition.