The state of the former Montecillo war veterans' home and hospital in Mornington would have saddened the hearts of old servicemen and women yesterday.
Dozens of broken windows had been boarded up with signs warning of "broken glass" and "danger".
Exterior doors were ripped off hinges and glass was strewn around buildings and through the former recreation hall.
More disturbingly, for a complex which housed veterans who fought Nazi Germany in World War 2, swastikas and white power slogans have been daubed on interior and exterior walls.
The Red Cross Military Convalescent Home at Montecillo was opened on June 27, 1918, to care for sick and injured Boer War and World War 1 veterans.
The Montecillo Trust sold the property in 2004 to Fox and Hammer Investments, owned by Dunedin businessman Andy Nailard and English investor Mike Wood, before opening the new Montecillo veterans' home in Bay View Rd in 2006.
"The vandalism happened in April and the police came up and finger-printed everything," Mr Nailard said yesterday.
"There's no real news. We're still trying to find someone to rent it or buy it.
"We had a group looking at it seriously last year, but there are a lot of vacant commercial sites around Dunedin at the moment.
"The commercial property market is a bit sticky and it's not easy getting money out of the banks," he said.
"A lot of people have had good ideas for it, but the scale of financial backing is the issue. If we see some good news happening with Carisbrook, it might give it some impetus."
The 1.3ha complex in Eglinton Rd comprises 60 rooms, while the former manager's home is on a neighbouring site.
The main property has a rateable value of $2.55 million, while the manager's house has a rateable value of $295,000.
