On this day in 1986, Colin Lancaster, of Melba, achieved some Canberra immortality when he was pictured on page one winning the San Bernadino Wines bota (wine skin) drinking competition as part of the famous Food and Wine Frolic.

Debbie Cameron's evocative story about the day deserves a substantial re-airing.

"By the end of the day the lawn had been scalped. The baldness was exaggerated by an uncomfortable toupee of broken plastic cups and forks. Toes crunched and bled on broken glass and loud music tapered into the low hum of empty microphones.

"There was a whiff of wine about everything - it hung in the air like the smell of mice in a science laboratory. Hands, sticky from food, picked up rugs covered with grass seeds and dragged them across Commonwealth Park to cars."

Police had estimated about 110,000 people had turned up at the lake, about half crammed onto the northern shoreline for the Birdman Rally.

"Most of the flights by the preposterous, leaden aeroplanes ended quickly. Some crumpled as inexplicably as the New World Hotel in Singapore. Others flew for a while and then skidded like giddy pelicans to a dead end."

By 3.45pm, $255,000 had been spent on food tickets. The tickets were frolic currency. "If you wanted quail you paid four tickets and if you wanted wine you paid one. Each ticket had a 60c value."

By late in the afternoon the quail stall was preparing to barbecue quail number 3500.

Police had a stronger presence there that year than in previous years, so according to the report the behaviour was reasonably OK till the early evening.

"After that there were some torrid exchanges. By 6pm about 15 men had been arrested and there were bound to be more. All had been arrested for drunkenness."

The Canberra Festival organisers were happy.

"It just gets better and belter every year," director Michael Byrne said.

See: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/13025239