The record attempt took place at Dalkeith, near Cassilis, beside the Munmurra River, about 230km inland from Newcastle and about 150km north of Hill End, where Kimm grew up.
Her only shearing in New Zealand was a few days for Central Otago contractor and New Zealand merino shearing legend Dion Morrell earlier this year.
Among those present was New Zealand shearer Sacha Bond, who in the New Zealand summer set the women’s nine-hour strong wool records of 720 lambs in December and 458 ewes in February.
On Friday, a 10-sheep sample shear wool weigh produced 37.42kg of wool – comfortably over the minimum requirement of 3.4kg per sheep – allowing judges to give the attempt the green light.
The judges were Robert McLaren, of Mid-Canterbury, and Australians David Brooker, Dave Grant and Ralph Blue.
The conditions weren’t the best, with some rain outside and the temperature struggling to get over 14-15C but Kimm had a large team of supporters, who had been working on the event for a year.
Remarkably, she was even stronger at the end of the attempt than at the beginning.
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She shore two-hour runs of 90 and 86 from the start at 7.30 am to the lunch break at midday, and 91 in both two-hour runs from 1pm to the finish at 5.30pm.
Her tally would have been 360 had the judges not rejected two sheep in the second run, and even more if the weather had been more favourable.
McLaren said Kimm had shorn well after the two rejections and ended with a quality rating of 17.4, inside the threshold of 18, encouraged particularly by “second” Mark Constance monitoring the pace by the clock at her side throughout.
Other key figures at the attempt included Dalkeith farmers Damon and Sophie Sostor, Goulburn contractor and sponsor Tim Redman, and sheep providers Troy and Sarah Rose, of Rotherwood, whom she honoured by shearing the remaining sheep from the target mob on Sunday.
Kimm would not confirm whether she would now target more records.
“I’m going to enjoy the moment of this one but it’s very encouraging with the outstanding support and enthusiasm I have received from my team, and their enthusiasm for another one.”
Currently, two further record attempts are registered with the World Sheep Shearing Records Society Incorporated. They are both in England in the first week of August.
Jeanine Kimm on breaking shearing stereotypes
Australia has a historic reluctance towards women in the woolshed but Kimm said she had not experienced any negative attitudes.
“Personally, I haven’t received anything but support and encouragement from my male counterparts,” she said.
However, she was aware of what had gone on in the past.
“I completely recognise and understand the sometimes very negative experience other women have had, especially historically, but personally it is not something I am able to speak on from my own experience, having only a few minor instances of pushback in the 11 years I’ve been full-time shearing.”
Being a woman in shearing was never unusual for Kimm, as it runs in the family.
First given a handpiece by father Noel, she spent the “vast majority” of her shearing career based in Bombala, in southern NSW.
“Growing up in a family where you were never told you couldn’t do something based on your gender and seeing my aunty Margaret Johnson and my mother both shear as respected role models, it never really has been a thought to me that it is anything out of the ordinary.
“I have been treated on who I am as a person and not necessarily treated on what people expected me to be based on their own stereotypes.”
Kimm recognised her privileged position was based on women before her breaking the norm.
“I am very grateful for women such as my auntie, who very much would have unfortunately encountered the negative brunt of being the first to break the mould of stereotypes for women like myself to succeed now.”
