When aviator Jean Batten flew in to Auckland on 16 October 1936 she was at the summit of her career. Two years before she had put New Zealand on the world map as she smashed the record of Amy Johnson, flying from England to Australia in her Gypsy Moth plane and shaving over four days of Amy’s flying time. The next year she became the first woman to fly across the South Atlantic , flying from England to Brazil with only a watch and compass to guide her. So when she landed at Mangere in her Percival Gull in 1936, conquering the United Kingdom to New Zealand route, she was already a celebrity and was greeted by an enthusiastic crowd of 6000 people. She was widely feted and toured the country giving public lectures, then collapsed and suffered a nervous breakdown. She went to recover at the Glacier Hotel at Franz Josef where she spent some quiet time horse riding and enjoying the hospitality of the mountaineering Graham family. After recovering she flew her Gull back to England becoming the first person to hold England to Australia solo records

Her mother Ellen had been her great mentor and supporter throughout her flying career and the pair were close, perhaps reacting to the stress of fame by living at secret addresses in England and Jamaica. Ellen died in Jamaica aged 89 prompting another breakdown for Jean. But she re-entered public life in 1969, where she was feted for her aviation accomplishments even though over 30 years had gone by. Throughout her life she had tempestuous relationships with various men, some of whom had subsidised her planes and flying career only to be dumped when they were no longer useful. Her loyalty seemed to be to her mother, no one else. Her last home was Majorca, where she had gone in secret – and where she died in 1982 aged 73 after an untreated dog bite got infected. Due to bureaucratic error her family was not notified and she was buried anonymously in a pauper’s grave.

Shown here is Jean Batten’s correspondence with Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage and other officials relating to her tour of New Zealand as a guest of the government after her record breaking flight.

Reference R24522765 IA1/1770 1934/193/25 Pt 2

 www.archway.archives.govt.nz/ViewFullItem.do?code=24522765 

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