Love of planes spans generations

Starlia Marsh in the turbine of the Jean Batten Boeing 737-800. Photo / Sarah Ivey

Twenty-two-month-old Starlia Marsh has already had a taste of the distances her great-great-great aunt Jean Batten flew in her pioneering prime.

In her short life she has flown to Australia and the United States - the sort of distance that would have taken Batten five days rather than 13 hours. And in the way of kids, she loves aeroplanes.

"She looks like she's keen on planes - she's always pointing them out," said her mother Shannon Marsh, Batten's great-great niece. They were among 22 descendants of Batten at Auckland Airport yesterday to celebrate Qantas naming one of its new transtasman aircraft after her.

The gathering was the biggest by the Batten family in 25 years and according to nephew Jim Batten, a great way to learn about the famous aviatrix.

"It's meant a lot to us having all the family here. I think a lot of the history the younger people wouldn't have heard about it - they've heard about it today," said the 85-year-old.

Batten, inspired by Australian aviator Charles Kingsford Smith, flew from England to Australia in 1934 in 14 days, 22 hours and 30 minutes, breaking the woman's world record and two years later became the first person to fly solo from England to New Zealand. Her record was unbroken for more than 40 years.

Qantas has named another of its Boeing 737-800 aircraft after writer Katherine Mansfield, whose early work appeared in an Australian literary journal, and after the New Zealand-born overseer of the Snowy Mountains hydro system, Sir William Hudson.

His grandson William Unger said the family was very proud and hoped it may result in greater awareness of Sir William's contribution to Australia on this side of the Tasman.

"Australians do tend to claim New Zealanders as their own."

Qantas says the aircraft were named after New Zealanders who had exported their skills to the world and had helped cement transtasman bonds. The names are confirmed by an informal committee of executives.

Three more new aircraft will join the transtasman fleet during the next 14 months and are yet to be named.