Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Caning log book resurfaces at WHHS

Rotorua Daily Post
10 Mar, 2006 12:55 AM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article

By REBECCA DEVINE in Rotorua
What do singer Tim Beveridge, rugby legend Buck Shelford and Rotorua deputy principal Peter Kaua have in common?

They all got the cane at school.

And while it doesn't appear to have done them any harm in the long term, that doesn't
mean they want to see it brought back into New Zealand school life.

The three, who have gone on to lead vastly different lives, appear in the old caning book which recently resurfaced at Western Heights High School.

Mr Kaua is now a deputy principal at the school and can't remember what he got the cane for the day his name was entered in the infamous book. He said it was "probably for being a smarta*** or disrespectful" and admitted to getting the cane a few more times informally.

Not that he's complaining. Mr Kaua credits the cane with teaching him self-respect and respect for others. "A lot of the stuff we did was pretty childish. It taught us to respect people."

Mr Kaua said whether students feared the cane depended on who was doing the caning - and a couple of teachers at the school at the time were particularly feared.

But Mr Kaua also knows the flip-side of caning. He's had to cane students when he was a teacher and he doesn't think it should be reintroduced at schools.

The Sensible Sentencing Trust this week called for the return of corporal punishment in schools.

"It was suitable for the era but that era has gone," said Mr Kaua

PE teacher Paora Morrison was caned for "continually talking and being disruptive" while All Blacks great Buck Shelford received his caning for "general disruption". Mr Beveridge, now an internationally renowned singer, laughed and denied ever being caned at Western Heights - but said it could have been his brother.

However, Mr Beveridge admitted he'd been hit with a bit of wood several times while he was at boarding school in Hamilton when he was younger.

He reckons it was a fair form of punishment when he deserved it, but says a lot of the times he got it was for things that were unfair

One time he was hit for forgetting to turn his pyjamas in the right way for the laundry lady - "that seemed really unjust".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save
    Share this article

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Daily Post

Tough rugby battle in Rotorua as Fiji overcome Samoa

Rotorua Daily Post

'Heartening' rise in dog adoptions, but many still being put down

Rotorua Daily Post

Killer drug driver revealed as gang member acquitted for murder of doctor


Sponsored

NZ’s convenience icon turns 35

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Tough rugby battle in Rotorua as Fiji overcome Samoa
Rotorua Daily Post

Tough rugby battle in Rotorua as Fiji overcome Samoa

Samoa will need to win next week's match to secure trip to the RWC.

06 Sep 09:07 PM
'Heartening' rise in dog adoptions, but many still being put down
Rotorua Daily Post

'Heartening' rise in dog adoptions, but many still being put down

06 Sep 06:00 PM
Killer drug driver revealed as gang member acquitted for murder of doctor
Rotorua Daily Post

Killer drug driver revealed as gang member acquitted for murder of doctor

06 Sep 05:00 PM


NZ’s convenience icon turns 35
Sponsored

NZ’s convenience icon turns 35

02 Sep 09:23 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP