Could The Birdman Rally be making a comeback? Photo: ArchivesACT.
Canberrans have seen a flurry of wild election promises over the past month but ACT Labor raised things to new heights on Saturday (14 September).
“We will celebrate the quirky side of our city’s history by bringing back the Birdman Rally to Canberra Day and Saturday morning busking to a revitalised Garema Place,” the party said in a statement.
The Birdman Rally was launched in 1985 and held at Lake Burley Griffith during the Canberra Festival every March.
To enter and win a $10,000 cash prize, contestants had to construct a homemade flying machine then run and jump from a six-metre high launching platform at Regatta Point.
Bronwyn Barnett of the National Sound and Film Archives (NSFA) recorded some of the event’s early history.
“By 1987 the number of entrants had reached 39. On a beautiful, sunny autumn day the estimated 100,000-plus spectators cheered on the brave, innovative or just plain mad birdmen and birdwomen leaping off the 10m-high platform in the hope of flying 50 metres and collecting the $10,000.
“Whether gliding gracefully or nose-diving straight into the water, contestants were assisted back to shore by members of the ACT Water Police, who used the occasion as a training exercise for their divers,” she wrote in an article for NSFA.
The Birdman Rally was a hit. Photo: ArchivesACT.
Ms Barnett said the event was canned in 1992, due to the rising cost of public liability and prize insurance.
ACT Labor has not explained how it would overcome this barrier nor provided details on how it would revive Saturday morning busking in the city
Busking in Garema Place was popular in the 1980s, when it gave musical comedy quartet Doug Anthony Allstars their start in show business. Street performers have been less of a sight in that area in recent years.
ACT Labor says it will also invest in other major events Canberrans love and bring back some Canberra icons.
“We will enhance the autumn Enlighten Festival by adding hugely popular drone shows to the program,” the party said.
“Reflecting our changing climate, Floriade will start earlier each year and we will increase the length of the Festival and extend its opening hours in the final week.
“We will continue to work with Telstra to reopen their iconic tower on Black Mountain as a Canberra visitor destination, features will include a café, retail space and observation deck.
“It’s part of our plan for the Canberra you love, but better.”
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