Originally called Burraga Island, now colloquially known as Pig Island, just east of the current Nowra bridges in the Shoalhaven River has a fascinating past.

It has a long history of being used as a farming area and in particular a dairy farm.

The most recent being the Kennedy family, who after purchasing the island in 1977, continued to dairy at the location until 2011.

Bob Smith, of Culburra Beach, found the album with some wonderful photographs in his late uncle and aunt's home while cleaning it up for sale.

In fact Bob, now 77 and his sister Pat, 75, feature in many of the photographs as young children.

Their parents George, a returned World War II serviceman, and mother Joan lived and worked on Pig Island for around fours years in the mid 1940s, with the photos dated 1946-47.

"Dad was a returned soldier having served in New Guinea and when they came home a lot were given farm jobs," Bob said.

"The family moved to the Shoalhaven and we lived on the island.

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"I believe the Peters might have owned or at least ran the dairy at that stage.

"Although I was pretty young and don't remember a lot."

The photos show how the island was as the young family, along with their uncles Keith and Sid and aunties Nell and Gwen, who were all Tarmans and Bob's grandfather Wallie Davies were all on the island.

The photos capture the family at work on the farm, milking cows, carrying milk cans to be collected and ploughing fields.

There are also pics of them at play, enjoying swims in the river.

"From what I can gather everyone worked at the dairy," Bob said "but also did general farm work on the island.

"I don't remember a lot, I was pretty young, about four-years-old I suppose.

"However, I do vaguely remember sitting between dad's legs as he rowed the milk cans across the river to the co-op.

"I think it was over on the Bomaderry side of the river."

He recalls stories of his mother putting the children and pram into the rowboat and rowing across the river before walking to the shops in town and how the farm would be filled with corn or maize.

When the family left Pig Island they lived in a tent at the Nowra Showground for a year.

"Mum was pregnant and something went wrong and they had to take mum and the baby to King Georges Hospital in Camperdown so we all ended up back in Sydney again," he said.

Eventually two other children, Kathleen and Darrell were born.

The family also worked in Kangaroo Valley at one stage.

In the mid '50s Pat can remember coming back to the area to holiday.

"We used to camp on Comerong Island for six weeks holidays," she said.

"Back then you used to wind yourself over the canal on a punt.

"We all had a lot of fun as kids trying to get that big wheel going to winch ourselves across.

"Back then it was full of two things, flathead and sandflies."

Pig Island is a place of fascination to many people.

Nowadays, it is owned by Sydney based Chinese company ASF Group and home to a number of beef cattle.

Not many people get onto the property.

Last year the island was again in the spotlight when the ASF Group, offered the 122-hectare holding for sale but despite attracting plenty of attention including some internationally the property was withdrawn from sale.

Over the years numerous development suggestions have been made as to what could happen on the property, including a high rise motel and even a casino, while a golf course and an aquatic theme park have been considered.

More recently a possible modern-day glamping style operation has even been mooted.