A Te Kuiti woman has braved sweltering heat to shear 452 ewes and set a new world record.

Kerri-Jo Te Huia is the first woman in more than thirty years to attempt a record bid for shearing ewes over nine hours.

Ms Te Huia's day started at 5am, at Otapawa Station in Wairarapa with a long-awaited bid to set a new world record for a woman shearing 'strong wool' ewes over nine hours.

Solo shearing is hot, heavy work with the wool coming off each ewe weighing more than 3kg.

With 300 shorn by lunch-time it was straight to the massage table for some much needed relaxation.

"I've never been to this pace before, shearing ewes, so every muscle in my body is aching and hurting and cramping."

But Ms Te Huia says she loves the challenge, she already holds a record for lamb shearing but ewes weighing 70kg are another story.

"They're like ten times harder. They're so much bigger, so much more feisty, they've got so much more wool on them."

However with family support and genetics on her side she kept up the punishing pace all day.

Ms Te Huia's brother Stacey is also a world-record holder and recalls exactly how tough it is.

"It was like running through the Sahara desert with a car tied behind you. That's how hard it is. It's hot and it's thirsty and it just hurts."

The last woman's record was set in Southland in 1983 - when Maureen Hyatt shore 522 ewes.

That was before shearing record rules were changed - so Te Huia now holds the world record.

One she hopes other women shearers will try to beat.

Newshub.