Jean Batten – My Life: New Zealand’s Greatest Woman Pilot

Jean Batten was born in Rotorua, New Zealand and developped a love for aviation from an early age. Her father did not approve of her love of flying and she and her mother moved to London in order to pursue her dream of becoming a pilot. Jean received her license at the London Aeroplane Club at Stag Lane and began planning for a flight from England to Australia to surpass the Amy Johnson’s record. After two failed attempts, she succeeded in 1934, flying a Gipsy Moth and became a great hero in Australia, New Zealand and England. In 1935 she broke James Mollison’s records for England to Brazil and Dakar to Natal and became the first woman to fly solo across the South Atlantic. She also shared a Harmon Trophy with Amelia Earhart in 1935. In 1937 she set another record for an Australia to England flight both ways. During World War II Jean Batten gave up flying and eventually became a recluse, living with her mother in Majorca, Spain and appearing in public only for a few events. She died in obscurity in Majorca in 1982. The international terminal at Auckland Airport is named in her honor.