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Jean Batten- Part 1 - Page 2

© Philippa Jane Ballantine

Of course she'd never done it before, but that was no hurdle to Ellen's determination. She took Jean to Sydney where she flew with Charles Kingsford Smith in his plane the Southern Cross. That set the seal on her daughter's ambition, now she wanted to not only fly, but to be famous for it.

Never one to hold back, Ellen took Jean to London, where she gained her 'A' License at the London Aeroplane school. And from there it was straight on in an attempt to break the solo flight record from England to Australia, set only that same year by English woman Amy Johnson.

However funds were almost non existent. They tried to raise money back in New Zealand, without any luck. It was during this period that Jean quarreled terribly with her brother John in London. He had become a reasonably successful actor, but after their argument, they never spoke again. Perhaps he too was getting in the way of Jean's ambition.

The only way Jean could see to reach her goal was to attract some corporate sponsorship, and to do that her commercial pilots license £500 was required. A young New Zealand pilot Fred Truman, was in love with Jean and wanted to marry her. She took his money, gained her license, and left him. He was not to be the last that this happened to. It seemed wherever she went Jean would leave a trail of broken hearts.

Now she needed a plane. Young Englishman Victor Dorée, provided the money for her first de Havilland Gipsy Moth, and Jean was off to Australia to break that record. Two sandstorms over Iraq forced her to land, but each time she went on. However engine failure caused a crash in Karachi, but Jean survived undaunted.

Back she went to Doree, asking for another plane. Once her told her he wouldn't, he didn't last long. However she had attracted the attention of the Castrol Oil company, who agreed to sponsor her and bought her another Gipsy Moth. So in April 1934, leaving behind her new finance stockbroker Edward Walter, Jean set off for Australia again.

This was also not to be. Outside of Rome the plane ran out of fuel and flew amongst radio masts. Jean bought the plane down with great skill, and though injured, survived.

But giving up was not in her vocabulary, she flew the plane back to England repaired it, and flew out again on May 8. Third time was the charm. She reached Darwin four days ahead of Amy Johnsons record, and became an instant celebrity.

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