Romany Brodribb with her "baby brother" Rye Hunt who died in Rio de Janeiro. Photo: Family Supplied

With a gap of nearly seven years between them, Romany Brodribb has always considered her younger brother, Rye Hunt, her baby. 

The siblings shared a special bond, with Hunt even walking his sister down the aisle at her wedding to Sam in 2011.

In happier times: Rye Hunt with his girlfriend, Bonnie Cuthbert. Photo: Facebook

"When mum brought him home from hospital, he was very much mine," Ms Brodribb said.

"I used to change his nappies and feed him, play with him ...

"And as we have grown up ...he has always come to me when he is in trouble for me to get him out of trouble."

Rye Hunt's sister Romany Brodribb and his girlfriend Bonnie Cuthbert before Ms Cuthbert left for Rio. Photo: Matt Maloney

Now Ms Brodribb is waiting for her brother in Tasmania as he makes his final journey home.

The Australian traveller went missing in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on May 21. 

His body was found washed ashore on a beach in Marica, about 25 kilometres away, on June 8.

On Sunday morning, Hunt's partner Bonnie Cuthbert and his uncle Michael Wholohan, will bring his ashes back to his grieving family.

Bonnie Cuthbert holds a photo of Rye Hunt during the search in Rio de Janeiro. Photo: AP

It is a bittersweet time for Ms Brodribb who on Monday welcomed her son into the world. 

She has named him Edward James Rye. 

Ms Brodribb, who hadn't known the baby's gender beforehand, said for her family, the birth felt a "little bit poetic".

"I think we have lost an amazing, amazing special boy in our lives, and we have gained one as well," she said.

"It is a little bit poetic, but sad at the same time as well."

Ms Brodribb said her brother would have doted on his nephew.

"He does look a little like my brother – I think he is going to be cheeky like him too," she said.

Next month the family will come together to formally bid goodbye to Hunt. 

"We are having a private service on the 10 of july for direct family and friends," Ms Brodribb said.

"We have lots of family and friends flying in from all over the country and also from New Zealand. 

"He means an awful lot to a lot of people. A lot of people want to say goodbye to him."

But rather than a funeral, she said, the service would be more of a "celebration of a life". 

"We all loved different aspects of his personality, but the aspect of his personally that shines through is his charisma," Ms Brodribb said.

"He was very loving, extremely loyal to friends and family, he was generous to a fault.

"He would give the shirt off his back even in the freezing cold ...he was  very,very hard working and committed to his job."

She said her brother and his partner, Ms Cuthbert, supported each other's dreams. Ms Brodribb said she was thankful to her uncle and Ms Cuthbert for going over to Brazil to find her missing brother. 

"It has been an incredibly emotional journey for them, especially Bonnie," Ms Brodribb said.

"She said to my parents and to me, 'I am going to find him and I am going to bring him home',  and she has done that.

"It's not the outcome that we wanted, but ... we are so thankful to her and my uncle.for bringing him home so that we can have some closure."

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