Cutting The Bars - Volume One

Peter was born in early 1948. He was one of four children to Leonard and Bronwyn Egge. Leaving school at 15, he pursued a career in retail, following in his father’s footsteps.

He married his wife Margaret in 1970. Realising he was in need of a career path, he applied for and was accepted to the position of Probationary Prison Officer with the New South Wales Department of Corrective Services. He embarked on an amazing career with his “hands on” approach, dealing with some of the hardest and toughest prisoners of that era.

Peter studied hard and worked in a large variety of positions. His experiences were extraordinary as he reached the rank of Senior Assistant Superintendent. He campaigned endlessly against drugs and corruption within the institutions in which he worked.

On 20th June 1985, it all came to a sudden end when Peter became a casualty of the most corrupt Prison system in Australia, and was accused of crimes he had not committed. He was arrested and sentenced to 15 years hard labour.

Peter served 15 months in Prison before the Appeals Court overturned his conviction and a retrial was ordered. Peter fought for six years before finally clearing his name. Amazingly, he was not reinstated to his former position within the Department of Corrective Services, nor was he compensated in any way. It has taken him 30 years to tell his compelling story in his book “It’s all in the Fall”, telling of how his hard earned and highly successful career as a Prison Officer, reaching the rank of Senior Assistant Superintendent, came crashing down as a result of a tangled web of deceit and corruption, which he firmly holds the belief was the result of a corrupt correlation between Police and Senior Prison management, escalating the status of rank and prominence for a number of key players. Now Peter has progressed to opening up the New South Wales Prison System during the 1970’s and 1980’s by writing this three volume book “Cutting the Bars”, elaborating on stories, individuals and events that occurred during

his 15 year service, many of which he forms the opinion were strongly surrounded by corruption and conspiracy. Please enjoy the compelling stories contained in Volume one.