Shanks beat Britain's Beijing Olympics silver medalist Wendy Houvenaghel, who was the fastest qualifier for the final.
Shanks, fourth at last year's Olympics, clocked three minutes 29.807 to beat Houvenaghel convincingly. The Briton clocked 3min 32.174sec in the final after setting a qualifying time of 3min 29.4sec.
It is New Zealand's second gold medal in successive years, after Christchurch's Hayden Godfrey won the five-event omnium at last year's championships.
Other world championship medals in recent times have come through Greg Henderson, a 2004 gold in the 15km scratch race and silver in the same event in 2005 and Sarah Ulmer in the 2004 women's individual pursuit.
Until Shanks' feat this morning, Ulmer and Karen Holliday, who won the points race at the 1990 world chapmionships, were the only New Zealand woman to hold world titles.
