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William Hartley Budd, accompanied by his younger half-brother, Nathaniel, and his parents, Samuel Hartley (step-father) and Hannah (nee Evans), departed Liverpool, on the 27th November 1832, bound for Hobart, Van Diemens Land and Sydney, New South Wales on the British ship, the Hibernia.
Owing to heavy weather for three days and some damage due to a Gale, put back to Liverpool, and again sailed on the 6th December.
Shortly after crossing the Equator, on the morning of the 5th February 1833, the ship encounted a dreadful calamity, in which it caught fire and was totally destroyed.
Unfortunately the ships three boats could only carry 79 persons, leaving the remaining 153 to be burnt to death or be drowned.
Fortunately William and Nathan were saved.
Endeavouring to reach the nearest land, Pernambucco, Brazil, some 1,180 miles away, after six days and six nights of suffering, during which one passenger died, all were picked up by the the Male Convict Ship, the Lotus (sailed from Portsmouth) and the British Brig, Isabella (sailed from Trieste, Guernsey).
William and Nathan were picked up by the Lotus.
They were conveyed to Rio de Janeiro, arriving on the 20th February.
The Two Brothers continued their voyage, departing Rio, 13th March, on the Brig, Adelaide, arriving in Hobart on the 20th May 1833.
Nathan returned to London on the Adelaide, departing Hobart, on the 7 June 1833.

The following is an account by several passengers (published in the Sydney Morning Herald, May 1833) of the:

The ship Hibernia of 456 tons register, sailed from Liverpool on the 6th day of December, 1832, bound to the Cape of Good Hope, Van Diemens Land, and Sydney, New South Wales, having on board 79 males, 80 females, and 50 children passengers; also, 19 seamen, and 4 boy apprentices - in the whole 232 souls.

About eleven oclock a.m., on the morning of the 5th of February, the second mate, Samuel Geddes, accompanied by a boy, proceeded to the store-room situated under the cabin deck, for the purpose of drawing off rum, some of which had pumped into a bucket;
the snuff of a naked light he had with him accidently dropped into it, he attempted to extinguish the flames but without effect, and in the endeavour to do so , a portion of the ignited matter was thrown about the place,
and it immediately communicated its influence to the other combustibles with which that part of the ship was stowed, viz; - rum, brandy, pitch, &c; the fire was so instantaneous that the second mate, Samuel Geddes, was dreadfully burnt before he could extricate himself from the spot.
The master displayed the greatest firmness of mind and activity on this melancholy event being announced, by collecting all the passengers and crew who had resolution to assist him in the struggle, to suppress the devouring element by scutling the decks and pouring down water in such ULections as the flames appeared to be extending.
At one p.m., all hope of saving the ship and property on board being abandoned, the master ordered the ships boats to be hoisted out, and what provisions could be got at was put on board,
but such was the rapidly of the flames that only a small quantity could be found; the boats being now crowded with passengers shoved off from the ships side; as a number of passengers had collectd a considerable quantity of heavy luggage ready to pitch in, if allowed, which would have swamped the boats, and every soul they contained must have perished;
the master would not leave the ship but continued his exertions until the flames were coming through all the hatchways when he and the first mate threw themselves overboard.
Shortly after which the flames reached the rigging, and quickly spread from mast to mast; the boats were the ordered astern, with a view of saving as many lives as possible, and amongst those afterwards picked up, were the captain and first mate, the former in a state of great exhaustion;
it was now ascertained that the boats contained eighty people, and from their crowded state and the deficiency of provisions, it was considered impossible, utterly impossible to save any more lives, as an approach to the wreck must have brought inevitable destruction on those in the boats.
A consultation was now held, and it was resolved, that the master should take charge of the long boat, containing fifty - three souls; that Mr.Taylor first mate, should take charge of the pinnace with seventeen souls; and that John James, Boatswain, should take charge of the gig;
the mate also had along with him in the pinnace his chronometer and sextant, and a few charts, the former having been saved almost by a miracle; Mr.Taylor saved his quadrant and got the masters barometer in charge;
it was then fixed that we should make the best of our way to Pernambuco, as being the nearest place of refuge; preparations were made for our departure, two spars were rigged for masts, and the main top gallant sail, studding sail, and an old tarpawling serving for the sails, similar arrangements were also made for the pinnace.
At five, p.m. made sail in the long boat and pinnace, the former having the gig in tow, a small sail being rigged in her to help us along.
At half-past 5 oclock passed the wreck then nearly burnt to the waters edge, all the masts gone by the boards; observed a great number of our fellow passengers still climbing to the bowspell, and other parts of the ship where the flames had not as yet reached.
Shortly after our departure, it becme necessary to keep eight hands constantly baling water out of the long boat to prevent her from sinking;
and on inspection, we found our stock of provisions in the long boat and gig, to consist of one small keg of fresh water containing about three quarts, six bottles of porter, about thirteen gallons of brandy, about three gallons of pease soup mixture, saved from the cooks coppers, but not boiled, about sixteen pounds of salt pork, three small live pigs, about fifty pounds of preserved meat soup, and about eighty pounds of damaged biscuit.
At six p.m. all hands were served with about one ounce of porter, subsituting the neck of a bottle as measure; at ten, the same quantity of brandy was issued to each person. Wind S.E. by S., the boats in company running from five to six knots during the night.

February 6 - At six a.m. light winds; pinnace to leeward about four miles; all hands in good spirits, and expressed their willingness to promote the general safety by using every exertion in their power;
all the men and boys capable of working were divided into watches, and ULected to relieve each other every hour in baleing the boats, by parties of eight at a time. Issued one ounce of brandy with about the same quantity of biscuit.
At twelve, wind freshened, running about six knots; latitude by observation 4 deg. 55 min, longitude by chronometer 22 deg. west; issued about one gill of pease soup mixture to each person, which being found sour, was corrected by adding an ounce of brandy and afterwards a table spoonful of preserved meat soup, which proved very refreshing and gave general encouragement to renewed exertions.
At half-past 12 oclock, pinnace joined company, the master asked Mr.Taylor what quantity of water he had in the pinnace, but could receive no satifactory answer from him; the master then represented that he had only three quartz of water to supply sixty-three souls, to which Mr.Taylor replied, that the master had three pigs and twenty-five gallons of brandy, and of the latter he was very short; the master then wished him to come alongside and divide all provisions, water, brandy, &c, in equal proportions to the number in each boat, but was refused, and after ascertaining our longitude made additional sail, & soon left us far astern.
The master also wished Mr.Taylor to take three or four females into his boat as he had abundance of room, this was also refused; it may also be stated from information received from the sailors in the long boat, that to their cetain knowledge the pinnace contained from twenty-five to thirty gallons of fresh water, and that she was also provided with a considerable quantity of biscuit, &c; and further, on the eve of leaving the wreck, the master sent into the pinnace about one gallon and a half of brandy, and a quantity of preserved meat soup.
After the pinnace leaving us, we contrived by means of an oar and an old bed cover to make an addition to our sail, but still we found it impossible to gain on the pinnace, and at five p.m. was out of sight.
At six p.m. issued one gill of pea soup mixture, two ounces of brandy, and one ounce of damaged biscuit.
Carpenters mate and another hand occupied during the day in endeavouring to stop the leaks, but without success; and the watches were with difficulty made to observe their turns in baling; steady breeze during the night; gig in tow; going about six knots.

February 7 - At six a.m. issued to each person two ounces of brandy, & one ounce of biscuit; the second mate being very ill from the effects of his burns, was put on board the gig; Mr.Riley cabin passenger, complained very much of weakness, and was apparently rapidly sinking under his sufferings.
At twelve, issued one gill of pea soup mixture, two ounces of brandy, and one ounce of bread. Latitude 5 deg. 55 min, longitude 23 deg. 35 min.
At six p.m. issued two ounces of preserved meat soup, and one gill of porter to each person, the boat still requiring the constant baling of eight hands to keep her afloat. Wind light, going four knots all night.

February 8 - At six a.m. issued two ounces of bread and the same quantity of brandy to each; succeeded during the night in reducing the leaks a little by stuffing the fat of salt pork into the leaks; considerable quarrelling took place this day among the watches appointed to bale.
At noon , latitude 6 deg. 8 min., longitude 25 deg. 17 min. 30 sec. Issued one gill of pea soup, two ounces of brandy, and one ounce of biscuit.
At six p.m. issued one ounce and a half of preserved meat soup and two ounces of brandy. Breeze freshening during the night; going six knots; gig in tow; Mr.Ridley still getting weaker.

February 9 - Light wind at six a.m. going three knots; issued two ounces of brandy and one ounce of bread; sent one of the pigs into the gig;
at twelve issued two ounces of meat soup, and two ounces of brandy; lat. 6 deg. 39 min., long. 26 deg. 44 min., fresh breeze, going six knots;
the heat of the sun now and for some days past has been so oppressive, that the majority of the hands, in order to render their state more supportable, have kept their body clothes constantly wet with salt water, and their heads covered with wet clothes;
Mr.Riley becoming weaker every hour, and Mr.Murray, another cabin passenger, begins to show strong symptoms of exhaustion, boats leaking very much, requiring eight hands, to bale to be relieved as usual;
at six p.m. issued one ounce of preserved meat soup, and two ounces of brandy; on sending the allowance to the gig, all the hands became clamorous for fresh water; running seven knots.

February 10 - At six a.m. issued the usual allowance of bread and brandy, the want of water was so severely felt, that the greater number of the hands could not be persuaded to resist the temptation of drinking salt water, which had been the practice of many since leaving the wreck, notwithstanding the bad effects likely to result from their so doing had been fully pointed out;
at noon lat. 7 deg. 12 min.; long. 28 deg. 19 min. 15 sec. issued one ounce and a half of preserved meat soup, one ounce of bread, and two ounces of brandy, wind E. by N. running four knots;
at six p.m. issued one ounce of bread, and one ounce of brandy, light wind, going three knots and a half;
at nine p.m. Mr.Riley departed this life from extreme fatigue, debility, and want of proper nourishment;
stiff breeze during the night, going from six to seven knots until morning, when it fell off; leaks increasing; notwithstanding the imperative neccessity; which called for the regular performance of this labour, many of the hands endeavoured to evade it, and the discord became so general as to require the masters prompt exertions to suppress it;
some of them began to be indifferent to the allowance of preserved meat soup, preffering to subsist on the morsel of biscuit and brandy, and an evident gloom appeared to pervade the countenances of many, notwithstanding the good example which was uniformly set by the master and cabin passengers, who cheerfully shared the privations and exertions of their fellow sufferers;
Mr.Giddes was delirious during the night, and the altered appearance of him and others, indicated a speedy termination to their sufferings;

February 11 - At six issued the usual allowance of bread and brandy - the body of Mr.Riley was committed to the deep;
at eight a.m. killed one of the pigs, and issued the blood to those who appeared in the most exhausted state, and the raw flesh for food, with the usual allowance of brandy;
considerable prejudice appeared at first to prevail in making use of either, but their neccessitous situation overcame the objection, particularly when the example was set by the master; many of them chewed bark, which they stripped off the spars, others pieces of lead or silver coins, in order to mitigate the painful sensation occasioned by their excessive thirst;
at two p.m. to the inexpressible joy of all on board, a sail appeared in sight, bearing W. by S. about eight miles distant; the anxiety to attract the notice of the stranger became intense - various were the suggestons proposed to effect this object;
at 1 min. past 3 oclock, the breeze became light, and the master went into the gig, with four of the least exhausted of the seamen, with the hope of heading the long boat, but after an hours labour, this plan was abandoned, as the long-boat gained on her;
at 30 min. past 4 oclock, all our anxiety terminated, as we observed the ship hoisting English colours, shortening sail, and heave aback; the master the ordered the general distribution of the water, which had been so long preserved; it is needless to say with what avidity it was swallowed up;
at 45 min. past 5 oclock, we were hailed by the vessel, which proved to be the male convict ship Lotus, Mr.John Summerson, commander, Doctor H.G.Brock, R.N. surgeon superintendent, from Portsmouth, bound to Van Diemans Land;
the few whose strength would permit scrambled by the main chains of the Lotus, and whilst spirits and water were distributed to those in the boats, a party of sailors were sent into the long-boat to keep her from sinking; it being deemed neccessary to hold a survey upon her,
the mates and carpenter were sent on board for that purpose, and whilst occupied on that duty, some of the unfortunate passengers came to the cuddy, and supplicated to be permitted to perish along-side, rather than again be exposed to the lingering death, which was inevitable to those who might be reshipped on board the long-boat;
it was, however, declared by the surveying officers that she was in a sinking state; no time was lost in reviving the sick and disabled persons from both boats, by hauling them up the ships side with ropes passed under their arms;
Mr.Murray, on reaching the cabin, fainted, and many others showed similar symptoms of exhaustion, and our unfortunate fellow passengers had not been more than half an hour rescued from the long-boat along-side, when she sunk, the gig was set adrift, and sail made on the ship.

Notes.

1. The Fire occurred at latitude 4 deg., 13 min. S, and longitude 19 deg., 45 min. W.

2. The Two Brothers were Orphaned by the loss of the Hibernia.

3. Of the 232 persons on the Hibernia, approx.210 were Settlers, of which 80 were Male, 80 were Female and 50 were Children.
   Of the approx.80 souls who survived, 52 were in the Long Boat, 11 in the Gig, and 17 in the Pinance.
   About 30 more got onto a Raft, but were never heard of again.

4. The Settlers appear to have been a mixture of Irish and English.
   Often Irish and Scottish Emigrants were ferried to Liverpool, which was a Major Port of Departure.

5. No Outward Passenger Lists from English Ports were held by the English Government prior to 1890.
   Passenger Lists of the Hibernia has been sourced from Newspaper Reports of the time.
   In all Reports I have sighted, the Budds are recorded under the Surname, Hartley.
   In several newspapers, a J.Hartley and wife, are reported to have perished, and Nathan has been incorrectly recorded as Martha.
   Lloyds of London (the Insurer ?) may hold a more accurate Passenger List, or was there a Coroners Inquest ?
   Maybe a List exists in the Parish where the Budds lived (Manchester), as often the Parish Priest recuited Emigrants ?

6. The Budds may have subscribed to an 1832 Emigration Scheme, sponsored by the Colonies of New South Wales and Van Diemens Land, in which families were loaned up to 20 pounds to defray the cost of their conyenance, and on the condition the husband was a competent workman in some of the Mechanical Arts, eg: a Blacksmith, a Carpenter etc.

7. All Survivors in the 3 Boats were picked up on the 11th February, those in the Long Boat and Gig, by the Male Convict Ship, the Lotus, and those in the Pinnance, by the Isabella arriving in Rio, on the 20th. and 21st. Feb.resp.

8. It is said that William, a Carpenter, lost all his Tools in the fire.

9. A Relief Committee was formed in Rio, of which 3516 Spanish Pounds was sent with the Adelaide to Hobart, to be apportioned to each Survivor as seen fit, by a Relief Committee in Hobart.

10. Both William and Nathan expressed their desire to the Hobart Relief Committee, to be Apprenticed to a Blacksmith.

11. Does a Memeorial to those who lost their lives on the Hibernia exist in Rio de Janeiro ?
    (eg: a Stone Cairn).

12. Many of those conveyed to Rio were invited into the homes of Merchants and large contributions were made from their Wardrobes.

13. The Calamity may have prompted an Inquest into the Sea-Worthiness of Lifeboats and the number of Lifeboats available for passengers.
    After years of being exposed on the ships decks to the Sun, the three boats would have leaked like sieves.
    The Long Boat was so old there were great fear of her going to pieces when hoisted over the ships side.

14. It must be remembered that the above Account, is one Account only, and was contested by Charles Atkinson (Hobart Town Courier, Friday, 24th May 1833) particularly the conduct of those in the Pinnace.