(1909– ).

Aviatrix.

A new biography of Batten, Jean Gardner appears in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography on this site.

Jean Gardner Batten was born at Rotorua on 15 September 1909 and educated at Cleveland House College, Auckland. From the age of 18 her unswerving ambition was to be the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia and, after two failures, she was successful in May 1934. The next three years were marked by a series of record flights, notably those from Australia to England, April 1935, England to Brazil, November 1935, and England to New Zealand, 1936. She received numerous honours and trophies from many countries and organisations. In 1936 she was awarded the C.B.E. Her publications include Solo Flight (1934) and My Life (1938).