Jean Batten - Pioneer Pilot

Jean Batten - Pioneer Pilot

Adventurous, glamorous and daring, pilot Jean Batten's record-breaking flights between 1933 and 1937 made her possibly the most famous New Zealander of the decade.

Born in Rotorua on September 15 1909, from an early age Batten was encouraged by her mother Ellen to compete in traditionally male careers.

In 1924, aged 15, Batten enrolled at secretarial school and began to study ballet and the piano, with the goal of becoming a professional performer. In 1927 she found a new ambition: when pilot Charles Lindbergh made a non-stop crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, Batten decided she wanted to fly.

In 1929 Ellen took Batten to Sydney, to fly with the Australian pilot Charles Kingsford Smith. The experience cemented Batten’s desire to be a famous pilot, competing against men to win recognition. The next year she and Ellen sailed to England, where Batten learnt to fly at the London Aeroplane Club, gaining her 'A' licence in December 1930.

Batten's first major flight was an attempt to break English pilot Amy Johnson's record solo flight from England to Australia. Batten made two unsuccessful attempts, crash-landing in Karachi in April 1933 and near Rome in April 1934. Batten was lucky to survive these attempts, but she refused to give up, and made a third attempt in May 1934. She landed in Darwin in 14 days 22½ hours, breaking Johnson's record by over four days.

In November 1935 Batten became the first woman to fly from England to South America. In 1936 she made the first direct flight from England to New Zealand, leaving England on 16 October and arriving at Mangere aerodrome in Auckland 11 days and 45 minutes later. She was welcomed by a crowd of 6,000 people.

In October 1937, aged 28, Batten made her final long distance flight, from Australia to England in 5 days 18 hours. The flight set a solo record for pilots of either sex.

Batten's highly publicised long distance flights earned her international celebrity, but when she stopped flying she quickly disappeared from public view. She and her mother Ellen (who died in 1966) moved around England and Europe, usually keeping their addresses secret. Batten made occasional returns to public life, visiting London in 1969 and New Zealand in 1970 and 1977.

Batten died on 22 November 1982 in Palma, Majorca; she had been bitten by a dog and the wound turned septic after she refused treatment. She was buried anonymously in a mass grave: for five years, no one knew of her death. It was later discovered that Batten wanted to have her ashes interred at Auckland International Airport: today, the international terminal is named in her honour.

Jean Batten biography – New Zealand Dictionary of Biography website

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