A fatal fire occurred at Ohaoawai on Tuesday evening by which an old Russell resident named John J. Priar was so seriously burned that he died last night. So far I cannot learn how the fire originated, but it is supposed his bedding caught fire while he was asleep, and that the smoke made him insensible. When found he was lying on the floor, having rolled off the bed. The fire was confined to the one room.
'Priar, John Jay (1832–1896)', Obituaries Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/priar-john-jay-25267/text33701, accessed 24 March 2023.
4 March,
1896
(aged ~ 64)
Auckland, New Zealand