Gordon Freeth's announcement published on this day in 1963 contradicted an earlier indication that motorised boats would be allowed, albeit those running below 10 knots.

The problem, Mr Freeth said, was that no one knew how to effectively police speed, and on top of that noise concerns around the then lakeside Canberra Hospital had been raised.

Perhaps in a bid for more justification, he said overcrowding of boat users could be a concern along with the prospect of debris floating to the surface.

"Owners of propeller-driven craft might be unwise to use them under these conditions in any case," the news report paraphrased him.

Mr. Freeth said some of the problems envisaged would not be as great if the lake were to be used only for Canberra boats. But those pesky visitors to town - which he believed would end up bringing the number of annual lake users to one million - would invariably cause problems when they brought their own boats on holiday.

Perhaps to soothe motorboat users, Mr Freeth said maybe in time they'd be allowed, once the reality of a filled lake had been realised.

"It would obviously be unfair to prospective powerboat owners to allow unrestricted use of the lake by these craft from the outset, while knowing that experience in other places pointed to a progressive application of controls on their use," he said.

To this day powered boats are very tightly regulated on the lake.

See: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/11463020