Jean Batten
Encyclopedia
Jean Gardner Batten CBE OSC
(15 September 1909 – 22 November 1982) was a New Zealand
aviatrix. Born in Rotorua
, she became the best-known New Zealander of the 1930s, internationally, by taking a number of record-breaking solo flights across the world.
in Auckland
where she studied ballet and piano. Though she was a gifted pianist, at the age of 18 she wanted to become a pilot, inspired by the Australian Charles Kingsford Smith
, who took her for a flight in his Southern Cross
. In 1929 she moved to England with her mother to join the London Aeroplane Club. She took her first solo flight in 1930 and gained private and commercial licences by 1932, borrowing £500 from Fred Truman, a New Zealand pilot serving in the Royal Air Force, to fund the 100 hours flying time required. She left Truman and turned to Victor Dorée, who borrowed £400 from his mother to buy Batten a Gipsy Moth
biplane.
Batten made two unsuccessful attempts to beat Amy Johnson
's time to Australia. In April 1933 she hit two sandstorms before the engine failed, and wrecked the aircraft crash-landing near Karachi
. Returning to London she was unable to persuade Dorée to buy her another aircraft, so she turned to the Castrol oil company, who bought her a second-hand Gipsy Moth for £240. She made another attempt in April 1934, but ran out of fuel at night on the outskirts of Rome. Flying into a maze of radio masts, she crash landed and nearly severed her lip. The plane was repaired and she flew it back to London, where she borrowed the lower wings from the aircraft of her fiancé, stockbroker Edward Walter, for a third attempt.
In May 1934, Batten successfully flew solo from England to Australia in the Gipsy Moth. Her trip of 14 days and 22 hours beat the existing England-to-Australia record of English aviatrix Amy Johnson by over four days. For this achievement and for subsequent record-breaking flights, she was awarded the Harmon Trophy
three times from 1935 through to 1937. She also received an endorsement contract with Castrol
oil. Batten's book about her trip, Solo Flight, was published by Jackson and O'Sullivan Ltd in 1934. Batten took a boat to New Zealand with the Gipsy Moth (which could not have flown across the Tasman Sea
) and made a six-week aerial tour there before returning to England.
After her first Australia flight Batten was able to buy a Percival Gull Six
monoplane, G-ADPR, which was named Jean. In 1935 she set a world record flying from England to Brazil
in the Gull, for which she was presented the Order of the Southern Cross
. In 1936 she set another world record with a solo flight from England to New Zealand. At her birthplace of Rotorua she was honored by local Māori, as she had been after the 1934 journey. She was given a chief’s feather cloak and given the title Hine-o-te-Rangi – "Daughter of the Skies". Batten was created Commander of the British Empire
(CBE) in 1936, and she was also given the Cross of Chevalier of the French Legion of Honour
that year.
In 1938, she was the first woman to be awarded the medal of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
, aviation's highest honour. Throughout the 30s she was very social and made many friends with other aviators internationally, as she described in her autobiography.
World War II
ended Batten's flying adventures. Her Gull was commissioned to active service but Batten was not permitted to fly it. During the war she was involved in campaigns giving lectures in England to raise money for guns and aeroplanes, but her flying days were over. After the war she retired from public life except for a few anniversary appearances.
Batten became a recluse and lived in several places around the world with her mother until her mother's death in 1965. In 1977 she was guest of honour at the opening of the Aviation Pioneers Pavilion at Auckland's Museum of Transport and Technology, after which she returned to her home in Spain. In 1982 she was bitten by a dog on the island of Majorca. She refused treatment and the wound became infected. She died alone in a hotel on Majorca, from complications from the dog bite.
Batten's autobiography, My Life, was published by George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd. in 1938 and is now available in full online at the New Zealand Electronic Text Center, part of the Victoria University of Wellington
Library. An extended version was printed under the title Alone in the Sky by N.Z. Technical books in 1979.
Because of her striking looks, her glamorous appearance at receptions (she always took a dress with her on her record-breaking flights), and her later reclusive ways, Batten became known as the "Greta Garbo
of the skies". In October 2008 a musical Garbo of the Skies written by Paul Andersen-Gardiner and Rebekah Hornblow had its inaugural performance in Opunake
by the Opunake Players at the Lakeside Playhouse. This was based on Ian Mackersey's biography.
Houses
in Macleans College
, Howick Intermediate
and Westlake Girls High School are named after her, as is Batten (Blue) House at Orewa College
and in the whanau system of Aorere College
in South Auckland. A primary school in Mangere
is named after her as are streets in Auckland
, Christchurch
, Mount Maunganui
, Wellington
, Wallington
and in her birthplace of Rotorua
. The historic Jean Batten building on the corner of Fort and Shortland streets in Auckland has been incorporated into the new Bank of New Zealand
head office building, and the Auckland Airport International Terminal is named after her. The Percival Gull G-ADPR in which she made the first ever solo trip from England to New Zealand in 1936 and many other record-breaking trips now hangs in the Jean Batten International Terminal.
A bronze sculpture of Batten is located in the main terminal of Rotorua Airport
and a small park in the middle of the city is also named after her.
In September 2009, a Qantas
737-800
, the first International configuration plane of its type and Qantas's 75th 737 was named after Batten.
Order of the Southern Cross
The National Order of the Southern Cross is a Brazilian order of chivalry founded by Emperor Pedro I on 1 December 1822. This order was intended to commemorate the independence of Brazil and the coronation of Pedro I...
(15 September 1909 – 22 November 1982) was a New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
aviatrix. Born in Rotorua
Rotorua
Rotorua is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. The city is the seat of the Rotorua District, a territorial authority encompassing the city and several other nearby towns...
, she became the best-known New Zealander of the 1930s, internationally, by taking a number of record-breaking solo flights across the world.
Biography
Batten was the daughter of a dental surgeon and a mother who became a strong supporter of her career as a pilot. In 1924 she was enrolled into a girls' boarding college in RemueraRemuera
Remuera is a residential suburban area within Auckland city, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located four kilometres to the southeast of the city centre...
in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
where she studied ballet and piano. Though she was a gifted pianist, at the age of 18 she wanted to become a pilot, inspired by the Australian Charles Kingsford Smith
Charles Kingsford Smith
Sir Charles Edward Kingsford Smith MC, AFC , often called by his nickname Smithy, was an early Australian aviator. In 1928, he earned global fame when he made the first trans-Pacific flight from the United States to Australia...
, who took her for a flight in his Southern Cross
Southern Cross (aircraft)
Southern Cross is the name of the Fokker F.VIIb/3m trimotor monoplane which in 1928 was flown by Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and his crew in the first ever trans-Pacific flight, from the mainland United States to Australia, about ....
. In 1929 she moved to England with her mother to join the London Aeroplane Club. She took her first solo flight in 1930 and gained private and commercial licences by 1932, borrowing £500 from Fred Truman, a New Zealand pilot serving in the Royal Air Force, to fund the 100 hours flying time required. She left Truman and turned to Victor Dorée, who borrowed £400 from his mother to buy Batten a Gipsy Moth
De Havilland DH.60 Moth
The de Havilland DH 60 Moth was a 1920s British two-seat touring and training aircraft that was developed into a series of aircraft by the de Havilland Aircraft Company.-Development:The DH 60 was developed from the larger DH 51 biplane...
biplane.
Batten made two unsuccessful attempts to beat Amy Johnson
Amy Johnson
Amy Johnson CBE, was a pioneering English aviator. Flying solo or with her husband, Jim Mollison, Johnson set numerous long-distance records during the 1930s...
's time to Australia. In April 1933 she hit two sandstorms before the engine failed, and wrecked the aircraft crash-landing near Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
. Returning to London she was unable to persuade Dorée to buy her another aircraft, so she turned to the Castrol oil company, who bought her a second-hand Gipsy Moth for £240. She made another attempt in April 1934, but ran out of fuel at night on the outskirts of Rome. Flying into a maze of radio masts, she crash landed and nearly severed her lip. The plane was repaired and she flew it back to London, where she borrowed the lower wings from the aircraft of her fiancé, stockbroker Edward Walter, for a third attempt.
In May 1934, Batten successfully flew solo from England to Australia in the Gipsy Moth. Her trip of 14 days and 22 hours beat the existing England-to-Australia record of English aviatrix Amy Johnson by over four days. For this achievement and for subsequent record-breaking flights, she was awarded the Harmon Trophy
Harmon Trophy
The Harmon Trophy is a set of three international trophies, to be awarded annually to the world's outstanding aviator, aviatrix , and aeronaut...
three times from 1935 through to 1937. She also received an endorsement contract with Castrol
Castrol
Castrol is a brand of industrial and automotive lubricants which is applied to a large range of oils, greases and similar products for most lubrication applications...
oil. Batten's book about her trip, Solo Flight, was published by Jackson and O'Sullivan Ltd in 1934. Batten took a boat to New Zealand with the Gipsy Moth (which could not have flown across the Tasman Sea
Tasman Sea
The Tasman Sea is the large body of water between Australia and New Zealand, approximately across. It extends 2,800 km from north to south. It is a south-western segment of the South Pacific Ocean. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, the first recorded European...
) and made a six-week aerial tour there before returning to England.
After her first Australia flight Batten was able to buy a Percival Gull Six
Percival Gull
The Percival Gull was a British single-engined monoplane, first flown in 1932. It was successful as a fast company transport, racing aircraft and long-range record breaker. It was developed into the Vega Gull and the Proctor.-Design and development:...
monoplane, G-ADPR, which was named Jean. In 1935 she set a world record flying from England to Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
in the Gull, for which she was presented the Order of the Southern Cross
Order of the Southern Cross
The National Order of the Southern Cross is a Brazilian order of chivalry founded by Emperor Pedro I on 1 December 1822. This order was intended to commemorate the independence of Brazil and the coronation of Pedro I...
. In 1936 she set another world record with a solo flight from England to New Zealand. At her birthplace of Rotorua she was honored by local Māori, as she had been after the 1934 journey. She was given a chief’s feather cloak and given the title Hine-o-te-Rangi – "Daughter of the Skies". Batten was created Commander of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(CBE) in 1936, and she was also given the Cross of Chevalier of the French Legion of Honour
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
that year.
In 1938, she was the first woman to be awarded the medal of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale is the world governing body for air sports and aeronautics and astronautics world records. Its head office is in Lausanne, Switzerland. This includes man-carrying aerospace vehicles from balloons to spacecraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles...
, aviation's highest honour. Throughout the 30s she was very social and made many friends with other aviators internationally, as she described in her autobiography.
World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
ended Batten's flying adventures. Her Gull was commissioned to active service but Batten was not permitted to fly it. During the war she was involved in campaigns giving lectures in England to raise money for guns and aeroplanes, but her flying days were over. After the war she retired from public life except for a few anniversary appearances.
Batten became a recluse and lived in several places around the world with her mother until her mother's death in 1965. In 1977 she was guest of honour at the opening of the Aviation Pioneers Pavilion at Auckland's Museum of Transport and Technology, after which she returned to her home in Spain. In 1982 she was bitten by a dog on the island of Majorca. She refused treatment and the wound became infected. She died alone in a hotel on Majorca, from complications from the dog bite.
Batten's autobiography, My Life, was published by George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd. in 1938 and is now available in full online at the New Zealand Electronic Text Center, part of the Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...
Library. An extended version was printed under the title Alone in the Sky by N.Z. Technical books in 1979.
Because of her striking looks, her glamorous appearance at receptions (she always took a dress with her on her record-breaking flights), and her later reclusive ways, Batten became known as the "Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...
of the skies". In October 2008 a musical Garbo of the Skies written by Paul Andersen-Gardiner and Rebekah Hornblow had its inaugural performance in Opunake
Opunake
Opunake is a small town on the southwest coast of Taranaki in New Zealand's North Island. It is located 45 kilometres southwest of New Plymouth. Rahotu is 16 km to the northwest. Manaia is 29 km to the southeast. State Highway 45 passes through the town.The population was 1368 in the...
by the Opunake Players at the Lakeside Playhouse. This was based on Ian Mackersey's biography.
Legacy
House system
The house system is a traditional feature of British schools, and schools in the Commonwealth. Historically, it was associated with established public schools, where a 'house' refers to a boarding house or dormitory of a boarding school...
in Macleans College
Macleans College
Macleans College is a co-educational secondary school in New Zealand situated in the Auckland suburb of Bucklands Beach. The principal is B J Bentley. The school is named after the Macleans family who after immigrating to New Zealand in 1850 farmed the area of land that the school is built on...
, Howick Intermediate
Howick Intermediate
Howick Intermediate is a co-educational intermediate school located on the corner of Botany Road and Pakuranga Highway, in Manukau City, New Zealand. Pupils attend for years seven and eight ....
and Westlake Girls High School are named after her, as is Batten (Blue) House at Orewa College
Orewa College
Orewa College is a Year 7 to 13 college/high school in Orewa on the Hibiscus Coast, north of Auckland, New Zealand.The 2007 roll is 1,696. The school has strong music, media, drama and sport departments with a prosperous international programme...
and in the whanau system of Aorere College
Aorere College
Aorere College is a co-educational state secondary school that was established in 1964 in Papatoetoe, Manukau, Auckland, New Zealand. Patrick Drumm is the principal of the college...
in South Auckland. A primary school in Mangere
Mangere
Māngere is one of the larger suburbs in South Auckland, in northern New Zealand.The suburb is located on flat land at the northeastern shore of the Manukau Harbour, to the northwest of the centre of Manukau city and 15 kilometres south of Auckland city centre...
is named after her as are streets in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, Mount Maunganui
Mount Maunganui
Mount Maunganui is a town in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, located on a peninsula to the north of Tauranga. It was independent from Tauranga until the completion of the Tauranga Harbour Bridge in 1988....
, Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, Wallington
Wallington, London
Wallington is a town in the London Borough of Sutton situated south south-west of Charing Cross. Prior to the merger of the Municipal Borough of Beddington and Wallington into the London Borough of Sutton, it was part of the county of Surrey.- History :...
and in her birthplace of Rotorua
Rotorua
Rotorua is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. The city is the seat of the Rotorua District, a territorial authority encompassing the city and several other nearby towns...
. The historic Jean Batten building on the corner of Fort and Shortland streets in Auckland has been incorporated into the new Bank of New Zealand
Bank of New Zealand
Bank of New Zealand is one of New Zealand’s largest banks and has been operating continuously in the country since the first office was opened in Auckland in October 1861 followed shortly after by the first branch in Dunedin in December 1861...
head office building, and the Auckland Airport International Terminal is named after her. The Percival Gull G-ADPR in which she made the first ever solo trip from England to New Zealand in 1936 and many other record-breaking trips now hangs in the Jean Batten International Terminal.
A bronze sculpture of Batten is located in the main terminal of Rotorua Airport
Rotorua Regional Airport
Rotorua International Airport is an airport in Rotorua, New Zealand .It originally opened in 1963, with a 1378m x 30m sealed runway so that it could accommodate National Airways Corporation's Douglas DC-3 and Fokker F27 aircraft, replacing the old Whakarewarewa Aerodrome...
and a small park in the middle of the city is also named after her.
In September 2009, a Qantas
Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...
737-800
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
, the first International configuration plane of its type and Qantas's 75th 737 was named after Batten.
Major flights
- 1934 – England - Australia (women's record) 10,500 miles in 14 days 22 hours 30 minutes, breaking Amy Johnson'sAmy JohnsonAmy Johnson CBE, was a pioneering English aviator. Flying solo or with her husband, Jim Mollison, Johnson set numerous long-distance records during the 1930s...
record by over four days. - 1935 – Australia - England in 17 days 15 hours. First woman ever to make a return flight.
- 1935 – England - Brazil: 5000 miles in 61 hours 15 minutes, setting world record for any type of aeroplane. Also fastest crossing South Atlantic Ocean, 13¼ hours, and first woman to make England - South America flight.
- 1936 – England - New Zealand. World record for any type. 14,224 miles in 11 days 45 minutes total elapsed time, including 2½ days in Sydney.
External links
- My Life, her autobiography, available in full text
- NZEDGE.COM Jean Batten Hine-o-te-Rangi: Daughter of the skies
- Auckland International Airport NZ Aviators Jean Batten
- Hargrave: The Pioneers. Aviation and Aeromodeling – Interdependent Evolutions and Histories
- Monash page of Jean Batten quotes, photos and links
- "Jean Batten - The Garbo of the Skies" documentary about her life