Tourists who download a new app will have audio files loaded on their smart phones as they pass particular GPS locations along the historic road.

It was developed by the Convict Trail Project, in ­partnership with Cessnock City Council and the help of a $20,000 federal government grant and was launched at Wollombi on Saturday.

The 240km Great North Road was the first overland link from Sydney to the Hunter Valley and was built by convict labour between 1826 and 1836.

The app’s historical ­information is delivered in the form of a play, told through ­conversations between a number of convict characters involved in the construction of the road.

Bird sounds, the noise of picks hitting rocks, the jangling of the leg irons worn by the chain gangs who built the road and historical music will also help users “immerse” themselves in the era, according to past executive ­director Elizabeth Roberts.

“It’s the history of the road delivered through a radio play,” she said.

“We’ve got convict characters who are talking to each other and through this the history is delivered. You’re immersed in the 

period of the time.

“This is the first time that we know of that a GPS generated app has been produced in NSW, it is cutting edge technology.”

The free app is expected to be available through the iTunes store by the end of March and will cover the section of the Great North Road between Bucketty and Wollombi. 

Two additional apps will be developed this year to eventually cover the entire length of the road.