A Muslim leader has called for the release from detention of an eight-year-old boy whose father died in the Christmas Island shipwreck tragedy and was buried today.

The burial was one of eight in Sydney two months after the wooden Indonesian fishing boat the asylum seekers were on crashed into rocks and sank, killing at least 30 people.

Eight-year-old Sinan Khaliq from Iran, one of 22 detainees flown from Christmas Island for the funerals, bowed his head as the body of his father Farhad was lowered into the ground.

Sinan's mother was never found.

Youness el Mouzafar was the Imam for the burials. Speaking through an interpreter he begged for Sinan to be released from detention.

"It was very dreadful... only imagining the kids drowning and other kids who were killed but the most... thing for me was there is children here and they died en route to Australia," he said.

He said Australia should give special consideration to the boy and should release him because he is an unaccompanied minor and he lost his whole family.

Mr el Mouzafar said Australia should follow through on its general idea of a fair go and release the boy.

Grief and anger

Despite agreeing with the Immigration Department that they would not speak to the media, two of the detainees allowed to attend the funerals wanted to tell their story.

Madain el Ibrahimy's eight-month-old daughter Zahra was buried today. The body of his wife and other child were never found.

"I lost my kids and my wife. I lost everything. I have nobody left. Only I have my brother here and I want to stay here, what's happening here?" he said.

For some of the families, grief was coupled with anger.

They claim they were not properly consulted about the funeral arrangements and they are unhappy with the way the asylum process has been handled.

Hussain Al Hussainy survived the crash, but his three-month-old son Sam did not.

"The residents of Christmas Island that rescued them and helped them is not the Australian Government or the Australian official people," he said.

"They are thanking the Australian people on Christmas Island for helping them while the Australian Government did nothing."

At the end of the funeral services the detainees were placed on a bus to head back to Christmas Island and Perth.

Their relatives in Sydney are unsure when they will see them next.

The decision to fly the detainees to Sydney has created political divisions.

Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison said the funerals should have been held on Christmas Island, and on Melbourne radio Opposition Leader Tony Abbott questioned the cost.

But his treasury spokesman Joe Hockey said allowing the families to attend the funerals shows Australia's compassion.

Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said today was not a day for political debate on the issue but he defended the Government's decision to fly the detainees to Sydney.