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She was born in Roturoa to Frederick Harold Batten and Ellen Blackmore.
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After they moved to Auckland, Jean was 5 and was enrolled to Melmerley Ladies' School.
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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.
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She was inspired by Charles Lindbergh's solo non-stop crossing of the Atlantic Ocean and was also encouraged by her mother to fly.
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Ellen took Jean to Sydney so she could fly with Australian aviator, Charles Kingsford Smith in his Southern Cross tri-motor.
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She sailed to England with her mother and learnt to fly at the London Aeroplane Club gaining her 'A' license in December that year.
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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.
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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.
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She landed in Port Natal, Brazil in just 61 hours and 15 minutes, almost a day faster than the previous record.
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It took Jean 11 days and 45 minutes to reach Auckland, where she was greeted by over 6000 people.
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The flight took 10 and a half hours and she was very successful, people cheering her on from both sides of the Tasman.
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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.
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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.
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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.
