One of Australia's oldest and most remote pubs is set to re-open after being sold to two WA Indigenous organisations.

The Whim Creek Hotel, halfway between Roebourne and Port Hedland, has not served a beer in more than two years.

The pub was the heart of the biggest copper mining town in the Pilbara when it was built in the late 1800's.

Since then, it has been hit by cyclones on several occasions, but endured as a popular rest stop for thirsty tourists and was considered a weekend jewel by north west locals.

In 2011, the pub was shut down indefinitely after it was bought by Venturex Resources, a mining company which had acquired the old Whim Creek copper project.

However, there are plans to once again open it for business after it was bought by the Ngarluma Aboriginal Corporation and Ngarluma Yindjibarndi Foundation, (NYF) for $1.7 million.

Its new owners plan to restore the historic hotel back to its former glory, employing local Indigenous people as chefs, barmen and tourist operators.

The corporation's chief executive Paul Stensen says Whim Creek will once again become a valuable asset for a region struggling to attract tourists.

"It's the heartlands of Ngarluma country so it's very important," he said.

"We're looking forward to re-establishing the service station, a caravan park and certainly promoting Indigenous tourism."

Pub close to tourist drawcards

NYF's ceo Evan Maloney says Whim Creek's close proximity to the historical Balla Balla and Moore islands will be a drawcard for keen fishers, campers and adventurous visitors.

"Very, very few Australians or even foreigners know about these areas, it's just so hard to get to, so far away in the middle of the Pilbara," he said.

There is major work to be done to restore the interior of the pub. ( ABC News: Gian de Poloni )

"This place is very ideally located, it's really central to all of the Pilbara, there's so much opportunity."

Venturex's managing director Michael Mulroney acknowledges his company is neither a hotel or a tourism operator.

He says it is in the best interests of the pub to be in the care of its new owners.

"As a young child I stopped there many times on my travels through the north," he said.

"It's got a lot of fond memories and I suppose it has been one of our ambitions to get it out of a public company, put it back in the hands of people who want to re-open it, and carry on the tradition."

The pub is also known for its odd Pilbara-centric quirks that were a hit with locals and tourists alike, such as the Barra burger, native wildlife park, Harry the talking cockatoo, a beer drinking camel and of course the hook and ring game.

Visitors to the pub used to spend hours at a time trying to throw a ring attached to a piece of string from the ceiling onto a hook on the wall, in the hope of scoring a free jug of beer.

Roebourne Visitors Centre manager Ruth Ellis says she believes the pub should be heritage-listed.

She says the renovation should give local tourism a boost.

"If they take it back to the counter meal, the pool table, the ring game, back to what it was, I think it will be very popular," she said.

Serious investment needed to restore pub

However, the manager of Karratha's Visitors Centre, Barry Harris, says the Pilbara icon is going to need some serious investment if it is to be restored to its former glory.

He says it is in a disgraceful state.

"When I had a walk around in there in November last year, it was quite devastating the actual state it was in," he said.

"So, the money spent on the purchase I reckon they're going to have to drop all that and more into bringing it back to its former glory days.

"I was actually a little gobsmacked over what sort of state it was in with the amount of rubbish out there, the building itself has been left to ruin.

"Resource companies shouldn't be buying iconic buildings and letting them go to rack and ruin for the good of what they're going to pull out of the ground."

Mr Maloney acknowledges their prized possession is a bit of a fixer-upper, with termites infesting the top floor of the hotel, but says they're willing to do what it takes.

He says he is hopeful the first beers will be poured come July, potentially bringing curious tourists and nostalgic locals back in droves.