In the 1970s, Tony Davis became Kurri Kurri High School's head teacher for social science.
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"I went to our new deputy, Bob Brown, a well known Kurri identity and asked him where the canes were," said Tony, now of Elermore Vale.
"He replied, 'There are none in use here. The only cane you will find here is upstairs in our museum'."
At Tony's next school as head teacher, closer to Newcastle, he again asked staff where the canes were.
"One of the really helpful ones took me for a walk and said, 'Tony, many of these kids need looking after, not belting. There are no canes," he said.
"The same staff member became a real friend and a good adviser. He believed that you get more out of kids with a pat on the back, not a kick in the backside."
Early in his high school career, Tony was based at a Lake Macquarie high school.
"The boss had created a job called 'master of boys' and asked me to take over this position. He took it very seriously and I did, too," Tony said.
One day a young female member of staff sent a young man to Tony for punishment.
"She insisted the boy was rude to her and wanted him caned. I talked to her and soon realised that she was probably, in some part, responsible for his comment. She could not see this and insisted on the caning," Tony said.
The young man involved, named Trevor, was big, fit and played in the forwards of the school's rugby league team. Tony was involved with coaching. He always found Trevor to be well mannered.
"I explained to Trevor that I was going to give him four strokes of the cane, but very soft ones."
He went back to class and apologised to his teacher.
"She saw me and demanded to see the punishment book. There it was, completed correctly," Tony said.
"There were no further complaints about Trevor. He went on to represent Newcastle in rugby league."
Many years later while having a beer at his local leagues club, a friend introduced Tony to Trevor.
"Tony, you know Trevor?" his friend said.
Tony's reply: "I do. I taught Trevor, I coached Trevor and I even caned Trevor."
Trevor gave a knowing look, smiled and said: "But not very hard, Mr Davis."
Caning Over Curtains
In his days as a student at Newcastle Boys' High, Tony's music teacher was "a young man, a gifted musician and a nice bloke".
"He attempted for several months to get some curtains for the music room," he said.
When they were fitted, the boys were instructed to treat them very carefully.
"Two of my mates and I secretly brought a piece of material to school. In a very quiet moment during our music lesson, we ripped the piece of material in half. It made a dreadful noise," he said.
The teacher was shocked, thinking it was his beloved drapes.
"When the melee had settled, he caned the three of us," Tony said.
Many years later, Tony's teacher became principal of Newcastle High School, when Tony was head teacher of social science.
"He asked me to his office to discuss a program I was preparing. I wondered how good his memory was."
He remembered the curtain caning.
"We had a great yarn. He became an excellent principal and a good friend. And he didn't cane me again!"