Pen mightier than haulpak, dad finds

In an effort to explain to children what their family members do for work, a Secret Harbour resident has written a children's picture book about machinery used on mine sites.

Boddington drive-in, drive-out machinery operator Aaron White said the idea came to him after his three-year-old son Tyler pointed to a regular commuter truck and incorrectly labelled it "that's what daddy drives".

He hunted for a children's book to explain what he did, but came up short, so opted to write and self-publish Dave the Dump Truck.

"I had no interest in writing books before now, but I wanted to create a tool to help parents communicate with their children about their job," Mr White said.

"My colleagues love it - it makes working away easier.

"When Tyler misses me, (my wife) Francesca reads the book to him and it makes him feel better."

The story, which is illustrated with photos of excavators, wheel loaders, drill rigs and other mining machinery used in Australia, follows lead character Dave's journey around a typical Australian mine site.

Mr White, who has been involved in mining since 2003, is now in the final stages of self-publishing the sequel, which provides more detail about the role of the machines.

"I want to create a whole series based on machinery involved in industries such as mining and emergency services," he said.