Why do so many houses sit vacant for years, sometimes even decades? After documenting abandoned houses across Western Australia, I've often wondered whether this is a matter of property rights or whether there's a deeper moral question. Beyond the empty buildings lie forgotten family histories, lost memories and communities watching another piece of their past slowly disappear.

After more than a decade of delays, the long-awaited redevelopment of Morley Galleria is finally underway. The $240 million transformation will modernise one of Perth's best-known shopping centres with new retail, dining and community spaces, bringing new life to a centre that had become increasingly vacant while residents waited for work to begin.

I was photographing the old Bank of New South Wales/Westpac building at 452 Fitzgerald Street, North Perth, when I started chatting to a lovely lady named Marie.