-
She was born in Roturoa to Frederick Harold Batten and Ellen Blackmore.
-
After they moved to Auckland, Jean was 5 and was enrolled to Melmerley Ladies' School.
-
Fred had gone to serve for World War I, so Ellen was the head of house and she insisted she was which Fred didn't like.
-
She was inspired by Charles Lindbergh's solo non-stop crossing of the Atlantic Ocean and was also encouraged by her mother to fly.
-
Ellen took Jean to Sydney so she could fly with Australian aviator, Charles Kingsford Smith in his Southern Cross tri-motor.
-
She sailed to England with her mother and learnt to fly at the London Aeroplane Club gaining her 'A' license in December that year.
-
The first and second attempts were not successful. The first one ended in India where a piece of machinery in the engine broke causing Jean to crash-land. The second attempt, she'd run out of petrol over Italy and had to make an emergency landing between Rome and Marseilles.
-
She took off again, and this time she was successful. She completed it within 14 days and 22 hours, beating the previous record by 5 days.
-
She landed in Port Natal, Brazil in just 61 hours and 15 minutes, almost a day faster than the previous record.
-
It took Jean 11 days and 45 minutes to reach Auckland, where she was greeted by over 6000 people.
-
The flight took 10 and a half hours and she was very successful, people cheering her on from both sides of the Tasman.
-
She passed away in Jean's arms in Spain, leaving Jean heartbroken as they'd eveloped a very close relationship and Jean relied on her a lot.
-
She was guest of honour at the opening of the Aviation Pioneers Pavilion at Auckland’s Museum of Transport and Technology. After this, she lived a very quiet, lonely and anonymous life in Spain.
-
It was discovered that she had died in Majorca, becasue of a a minor dog bite. The bite had become infected, but Jean refused antibiotics or other medication, believing the healing power of positive thought will cure it.
You are not authorized to access this page.
