January 13, 2017
Shearing extra role part of record preparation
Two years of planning and preparation went into a successful record bid by Te Akau shearer Coel L’Huillier, of Te Akau and his partner Kelvin Walker of Taumarunui.
The pair sheared 1068 ewes in eight hours at Te Hape Station east of Bennydale on Tuesday, one sheep evey 52 seconds.
That’s two sheep more than the two-stand eight-hours strongwool ewes record which has stood for six years.
L’Huillier says he was inspired to pick up he blades by his grandfather, Morris Solomon of Ngati Tahinga, who also had success in competition shearing.
He says as well as his normal working day shearing here and overseas, he has put in a lot of road and gym work to build up the stamina for the attempt.
There was also care taken to pick a suitable flock that would have the required weight and consistency of wool to make the attempt count.
L’Huillier also had a hand with the optics of the bid – he played one of the shearers in the film Mahana, the film based on the Witi Ihimaera novel about feuding East Coast shearing families.
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