Fr T.J. Linane, From Abel to Zundolovich, Vol. 2: Biographies of Priests on the Australian Scene up to 1900, 1980, p 69:

Colomb, Jean Baptiste, French, Visitor
Drowned While Fording a River
The tragedy referred to in a caption took place on 26 July 1871. Jean Baptiste was born in the Belley Diocese on 26 June 1821 and received his Marist profession on 23 October 1851. Before coming to New Zealand he served in the Marist Parish of Ramford, near London, for 17 years. He left England on 22 January 1870 and was installed as Pastor of Greymouth in May 1870. He was drowned on 26 July the following year while trying to ford Nelson Creek, a tributary of the Grey River, when returning from a pastoral visit. In the brief missionary stay, helped by his curate, Fr. Nicholas Binsfield SM, he doubled the size of the first church. He also built the first Catholic school, the site of which was later purchased by the N.Z. Government for harbour improvements. Fr. M. Mulcahy, Marist Archivist in New Zealand, has supplied the above details. In a letter written by Fr. Jeremiah Hogan SJ, a lecturer at Catholic College, Clayton, we read the interesting additional comment: "About ten years ago I visited Greymouth as a guest of the hospitable host, Mgr. Long, now deceased. The priests at Greymouth presbytery showed me an early baptism register. One certificate, much stained by water, was pinned to the book. They told me that it had been found on the body of a priest who had been drowned in one of the floods that occur in that region".
(Footprints, Vol. 2, No. 8)
Ref.: MDHC File, Torquay, drawn up from information received through Fr. John Hosie SM, Fr. M. Mulcahy SM, and Fr. Jeremiah Hogan SJ.