A new craze was sweeping Canberra in 1973 during a sweltering heatwave.

It was called "bike jumping" and it was one of the coolest things to do.

School children were riding their bikes into Lake Burley Griffin as a way to cool down and have fun in the sun.

One such teenager was 13-year-old Bruce Perrin of Yarralumla who was pictured on the front page of The Canberra Times on January 5, 1973, riding his bike into the lake.

Elsewhere on the front page it seemed that most of the hot weather had passed for the region.

It was expected to be a mild to warm day, with maximum of 28 degrees in Canberra. On the South Coast, temperatures were expected to fall between 20 and 25 degrees.

"It was expected that the weather in Canberra tomorrow and on Sunday would be warm to very warm but heatwave conditions are not expected," the article read.

With the slightly cooler temperatures expected, it was unclear if Bruce Perrin and his mates would keep up their wet and wild hobby.

See https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/11958859