Jean Batten is back, standing outside Auckland Airport after a redesign.
Jean Batten is back, standing outside Auckland Airport after a redesign.
A 105-year-old aviation hero has landed back at Auckland Airport, as the statue of Jean Batten is returned to Auckland Airport International arrivals.
The statue of the famous pilot was moved from in front of the airport in November 2022 to make way for building works for the new Transport Hub.
At the time an airport spokesperson said Batten would be back and this was an “opportunity for the statue to be removed for cleaning.”
Two years later she has touched down in a new location as the focal point of the airport’s redeveloped outdoor plaza.
The 19,500m2 outdoor area is part of the first stage of its new $300 million hub at the international terminal, which has seen the airport covered in building works.
The statue of Jean Batten is removed from Auckland Airport.
Auckland Airport’s chief commercial officer Mark Thomson says the new gardens and its runway of native trees will provide a landscaped arrival for air passengers.
“You’ll see that reflected in not just the mature pōhutukawa, but in the volcanic stone landscaping features that flow through the gardens.”
Batten was the first person to fly from the UK to New Zealand in a record-breaking 1936 flight.
The statue was unveiled in 1989 by New Zealand sculptor Anthony Stones to mark her record-setting flight in a Percival Gull 6, a plane which is on display in the international terminal.
Over the past 12 months the statue was carefully restored by Liz Yuda at the Auckland-based Artefacts Conservation Ltd.
This is not the first time the disappearance of Aotearoa’s famous aviatrix has sparked questions.
Jean Batten waves to the crowds after landing at Auckland in 1936. Photo / Getty Images
Batten goes missing
After her flight from Sydney to England the following year Batten did no more long-haul records. Instead, she retired out of public view. Described as reclusive, she had little contact with her family or publisher.
On November 8, 1982, Batten went missing for almost five years. It was only revealed in late 1987 that she had died, reportedly of a wound received from a dog.
Batten’s final 1974 will asked for her ashes to be returned to Auckland on an Air New Zealand plane.
Instead she was buried in a paupers grave in Palma, Spain, where she remains today.
The Spanish gravesite has since become a shrine to aviation and there are no plans to repatriate her.
When asked, Batten’s family said they were reluctant to retrieve her from the shared grave.
“It would just be too intrusive,” great-nephew Ron Batten told the Herald. “She should remain there.”
