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Frequently Asked Questions

Where did the original Patriotic Funds come from?
During the First World War some 600 separate Patriotic Funds were established. During the Second World War the Government decided to limit the number of Patriotic Funds to twelve (one National and eleven Provincial). This enabled elected local bodies to oversee and have full control of the collection and expenditure of all monies collected from the public for Patriotic purposes. The substance is contained in the Patriotic Purposes Emergency Regulations, 1939, which in part say: "The Patriotic Funds are not in any way administered or expended by the Government, but by the elected representatives of the Public Bodies in the Districts concerned." At the end of the Second World War, Headquarters recommended to Units, that the balance of those funds that were derived in part from the profits made by the units on the sale of canteen goods and in part from donations from the National Patriotic Fund, should go to the central 2 NZEF Fund, which it was thought would go to swell a large central fund in New Zealand, which turned out to be the case. So the vast bulk of the funds which created today's real and personal assets, such as Montecillo, came from the pockets of the servicemen on active service, home units, or from public donations to those servicemen.

What has happened to the funds?
The existing Patriotic funds have been depleted to the point where they are no longer available to support the operations of Montecillo, one of three patriotic Homes in New Zealand, the other homes being located in Auckland and Christchurch.

What's special and different about Montecillo?
Montecillo Veterans Home and Hospital is a special facility for veterans of all ages.  Many are aged and many have attributable medical conditions over and above the ageing process.  It is also a facility for dependants of veterans.

Why did we rebuild?
Montecillo at Eglinton Road was a facility occupying buildings that had served their purpose.  Access, costs of renovation and a hill top location away from many of the Veterans community made the decision to move simple.

What was the cost of construction?
The NZ Government through Veterans Affairs loaned Montecillo $2.75m.  The sale of Montecillo at Eglinton Road was $1.7m.  The cost of land purchase, legal fees, resource & consent costs, amounted to $700,000 leaving $3.5m for construction.

What about fitting out the construction?
Fitting out the 44 bed, hospital sized ensuited rooms, associated recreational lounges, day rooms, chapel & dining room, with suitable equipment, furniture and furnishings to enhance this state of the art facility, required a further $700,000.
 

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