Several portraits of Powell were taken over the years from the early '40s to the '60s that show her as a teenager to a married woman, fragments of her life documented by street photographers - common buskers of the day who were often seen as a nuisance.

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Anne Zahalka spent the last two years searching for images from street photographers, whose works were often the only portraits people had of themselves outside major events (like marriage), and has put them on show in a giant streetscape exhibition at Wollongong Art Gallery.

"I love the nostalgia of these images, the fashions of the day and having them come to life in a variety of forms through projection, life-size reproductions and mural enlargements has been amazing," Zahalka said.

"Showing how this city [Wollongong] and its people once looked and seeing the reaction of the community to these photographs is so rewarding."

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Back in the day, a photographer would snap a passer by on the street for a split second, then hand the subject a card detailing where they could find and purchase the print the following week.

More than 300 photographs were submitted for Zahalka's exhibition project along with hundreds of stories.

The fleeting moments on exhibition really do tell a thousand words - from two sisters meeting their future husbands, a couple on the way to purchase their engagement ring, the hard workers from the Berlei factory or steelworks.

"A daughter's mother reveals a small belly with her inside; a young boy is led by his aunt who would later go on to serve in Vietnam, sadly dying of the effects of Agent Orange," Zahalka said of some of the photos.

"There are so many touching stories shared through conversation and correspondence.

"For many family descendants, seeing their mothers, grandmothers or father's as young, vibrant people stepping out, smartly dressed onto the bustlingly streets of Wollongong was so intriguing for them."

Zahalka said it had been "a massive job" to scan and restore the hundreds of photographs submitted for her exhibition project, and "present this historical record of the people of the Illawarra in the best possible light".

The digital collection of images and accompanying information will be held with Wollongong City Library in perpetuity.

SNAPPED! by Anne Zahalka is at Wollongong Art Gallery on Burelli Street, until February 20, 2022.

This exhibition presents a historical portrait of local life mapped across the streets and beachscapes of the Illawarra.

Recorded originally by early commercial street photographers from the 1930s to 60s, these affordable postcard-sized prints candidly captured passers-by.

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