One of the great international aviators of the 1930s, Jean Gardner Batten was born on 15 September 1909 in Rotorua, the only daughter Frederick Harold Batten and Ellen (Nellie) Blackmore.
On the wall beside her cot Jean’s mother pinned a newspaper picture of the French pilot Louis Blériot, who had just flown the English Channel - a statement that Jean’s generation would be capable of similar achievements.
After a childhood of high achievement in school, Jean planned to perform professionally in ballet and piano, but this dramatically changed when she was inspired by Charles Lindbergh’s solo non-stop crossing of the Atlantic Ocean.
Selling her piano for money, she went to Australia and then England gaining her pilots licence. Almost immediately she began planning for her first record attempt. With money causing many obstacles, men who were infatuated with Jean helped ease the burden.
Early record attempts were ruined by sandstorms and near fatal crashes, but Jean’s natural navigational talent helped her through. Refusing to give up, just two days after crashing in Rome, on 3 May Jean set off to shatter the cross-Atlantic world record by four days. Overnight she became a celebrity.
Jean went on to achieve more world records, and even more men fell in love with her charm and elegance. She slowly faded from public view and died anonymously in Palma, Majorca, on 22 November 1982, aged 73 as a result of a dog bite.
Jean Batten was the finest woman pilot of the golden age of aviation and brought great honour to New Zealand. Behind her beauty lay qualities of ruthlessness and determination that were unique among her women pilot contemporaries. She remains a legacy and inspiration to women today.
