Jean Batten Statue

Photo credit - Egghead06

Since 1989, the bronze sculpture of the legendary aviator Jean Batten waving has welcomed visitors to Auckland International Airport, where the international terminal bears her name, and the Percival Gull, in which she made the first solo trip from England to New Zealand, is on display.

Jean Batten was a pioneering New Zealand aviator who set multiple solo flight records in the 1930s. Born in 1909, Batten developed an interest in aviation from a young age and emigrated to England in 1930 to pursue her dream of becoming a pilot. She earned her licenses and planned record-breaking long-distance flights to Australia and beyond, raising funds and modifying her Gipsy Moth biplane to increase its range.
Despite crashes and near disasters, Batten broke Amy Johnson’s England to Australia solo flight record in 1934, then set subsequent speed and distance records over the next four years, flying perilous routes across oceans and continents.

Through her talent and determination, Batten repeatedly conquered the male-dominated domain of record-setting global flights and became an international celebrity.
In 1937, at only 28 years old, Batten retired from aviation and disappeared from public view for decades.
Batten resurfaced in the 1970s and 80s to promote her memoirs and museum exhibits that revived her celebrity before dying obscurely from a dog bite in 1982. It took five years for stunned family members to learn she had passed.

Her pioneering early achievements and mysterious later years only added to her aura as an aviation trailblazer.

Several streets, schools, and even a peak were named in her honor. The Jean Batten Memorial stands at Jean Batten Square in her hometown, Rotorua, New Zealand. The plaque on the base of the statue reads.
Sculptor Anthony Stones sculpted this statue, and the Governor-General of New Zealand, Sir Paul Reeves, unveiled it on 5 October 1989.
The plaque on the base of the statue reads –
THIS MEMORIAL TO
JEAN BATTEN
WAS UNVEILED BY
HIS EXCELLENCY THE MOST REVEREND
SIR PAUL REEVES, GCMG, GCVO, OSO,
GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF NEW ZEALAND
ON 5 OCTOBER 1989
THE PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL SPONSORS OF THE STATUE WERE:
AIR NEW ZEALAND LTD
AUCKLAND INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT LTD
BITUMIX LTD
CHALLENGE PROPERTIES LTD
COOPERS & LYBRAND
DOWNER & CO LTD
HAWKINS CONSTRUCTION LTD
LION NATHAN LTD
MAINZEAL
MCDONALDS SYSTEM OF NZ LTD
NEWMANS GROUP OF COMPANIES:
NEWMANS COACHLINES
NEWMANS TOURS
ATLANTIC & PACIFIC TRAVEL GROUP
HORIZON HOLIDAYS
GO INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL GROUP
NZ LOTTERY BOARD
NISSAN DATSUN HOLDINGS
TELECOM (AK) LTD
BARRY CURTIS
MAYOR OR MANUKAU
CHAIRMAN, JEAN BATTEN MEMORIAL TRUST
SCULPTOR: ANTHONY STONES

Nest to the base there are two other plaques:
JEAN BATTEN
1909-1982
NEW ZEALAND’S MOST
FAMOUS AVIATRIX

THE FIRST PERSON TO
FLY SOLO FROM ENGLAND
TO NEW ZEALAND. SHE LEFT
ENGLAND ON 5 OCTOBER
AND LANDED HERE AT MANGERE
11 DAYS LATER ON 16 OCTOBER 1936.

“I WAS DESTINED TO BE A WANDERER…
I SEEMED BORN TO TRAVEL…
IN FLYING I FOUND… SPEED AND FREEDOM
TO ROAM THE EARTH.”

JEAN BATTEN

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