The official meteorological readings for Gisborne are taken at Darton Field aerodrome, and are often greeted by city dwellers with frank disbelief. On mornings when hands are being rubbed together and estimates of 12 and 14. degrees are being agreed with on all sides, Darton Field has a habit of warming up the conversational temperature by announcing a piddling four degrees or so.

It was like this when "Photo News" took the big picture on pages 34-35 and the first two photographs on this page.

So when another stinger came on July 8, we set out with a camera to show just how much of a hot spot Darton Field is compared with the city......

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School patrol had frosty job. Left to right are Alexander Kerr, Terry Lougher and Bruce Robertson

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Before leaving home, we took this picture in the backyard, just to show that things were really white in the city.

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Then we set out for Darton Field. Our first shock was at Elgin, where we saw this schoolgirl with a lump of ice in her hand.

Arriving at Darton Field, we soon found that we had picked on the wrong day. Instead of balmy breezes and people lolling about in shirt-sleeves, the vast green of the 'drome was carpeted in pure white, and nobody was in sight. They were all inside huddling round their heaters.

For the first time since 1957, the mercury in the official thermometer had dropped to 12.8 deg.

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The meteorological enclosure at the drome on the morning of the 12.8 frost.

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The air temperature fell to 27.6 deg.

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The officer in charge, Mr D. M. Reader, taking the reading. His dog, "Darky", is an interested spectator.