CHRIS THOMSON

A cold case investigation has seen a Port Kennedy man and woman charged over a fire that burnt down the Kwolyin State Hotel west of Bruce Rock in February 1992.

The 67-year-old Port Kennedy man was last week charged with one count of criminal damage by fire and one count of fraud.

He will appear in Northam Magistrates Court on February 6.

The 59-year-old woman, also of Port Kennedy, was arrested yesterday and charged with one count of fraud.

She will appear in Northam Magistrates Court on February 27.

Police spokeswoman Naomi Smith said the fire destroyed the hotel and had been deemed to be caused by human hands.

Acting sergeant Smith said the case was reviewed in June 2011 and later re-opened after new evidence was discovered.

The gutted hotel, built in 1914, was demolished in 1992 after the blaze. Its site was added to the Shire of Bruce Rock heritage list in 1997.