A SPELL IN NEW ZEALAND

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 150, 28 June 1938, Page 5

A SPELL IN NEW ZEALAND

(By Jean Battel In the previous portion of this chapter of her "Life" Miss Batten described her flight across the Tasman Sea from Sydney to Auckland. CHAPTER 18 (Continued). As I taxied the Gull up to the large reception dais where civic authorities and representatives of the Government and the Services waited to welcome me I was delighted to see my father, and recognised many friends among the crowd. The machine came to rest, and I switched off the engine of my faithful Gull for the last time on that flight and entered up the time of my landing, which was 5.05 a.m. G.M.T. I struggled out of the bulky lifesaving jacket, and opening the door of the cockpit stepped on to the wing. In their enthusiasm hundreds of people had broken the barriers and were running toward the machine, and dozens of policemen were trying to hold the tremendous crowd back from the Gull, which was soon surrounded by a wildly cheering multitude. YeS, I decided, this was certainly the greatest moment of my life. The triumph of the flight had been complete, and I felt a desire to stay the hand of time and enjoy to the full this hour of success. My father affectionately greeted me and I went up to the dais to receive an official welcome. I was almost completely deaf from the roar of the engine, and could scarcely hear the sound of my own voice when, following the many speeches of welcome, I was asked to broadcast. There was a gigantic traffic jam be&veen the aerodrome and the city, thirteen miles away, and after a welcome cup of tea at the club-house I drove through lines of cheering people. WORK FOR THE SECRETARIES. On arrival at the hotel I found hundreds of cables and telegrams of congratulations from many parts of the world. For several weeks four secretaries were kept busy acknowledging the messages, which totalled several thousands. There were congratulations from Governors-General, Prime Ministers, Ambassadors, Ministers of the Crown, High Commissioners, the Air Ministers of Britain and France, leading aero clubs, including the Royal Aero Club of Great Britain and the Aero Club de France, the Royal Aeronautical Society and the Society of British Aircraft Construction, the Royal Automobile Club, aviation authorities in South American countries, from different societies and institutions in many parts of the world, to mention a few of the representative messages. At the civic reception I felt deeply honoured when the Mayor of Auckland announced that it had been decided to perpetuate my name and keep the memory of my flight to New. Zealand ever green by naming an important thoroughfare in the city "Jean Batten Place." After a few days in my home town I left for Wellington. I had financed this venture entirely by myself, and it was imperative that the flight should pay for itself. As I was utterly dependent on myself it was of the utmost importance that I should more than clear expenses to enable me to continue my flying activities. So it was, that almost immediately upon arriv- 1 ing in New Zealand I had to muster my remaining strength and commence a tour of the Dominion, giving talks at various cinema theatres. When I started the tour I knew that I was overdrawing on my reserve energy, but insisted on carrying on. GUEST OF THE GOVERNMENT. Talks were given in Auckland, Hamilton, and Wellington, but after my arrival in Christchurch I was too tired to go on, and upon medical advice was reluctantly obliged to cancel the tour and take a rest. The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Mr. Savage, who had sent wonderful messages of conjgratulation and given a reception in my honour during my visit to Wellington, very generously invited me to take a holiday for several weeks as guest of the Government. I was most grateful for this kind offer of hospitality, and enjoyed a wonderful holiday at the Franz Josef Glacier. Although I knew New Zealand so well, I had not previously had an opportunity of seeing the glacier. Never shall I forget the magnificent spectacle of the great river of ice. Dark green sub-tropical vegetation and exquisite ferns covered the foothills, and grew to the very edge of the ice. To complete the matchless setting great snow-covered peaks guarded the top of the glacier as the Southern Alps towered like a chain of giants southward, and Mount Cook raised its summit to 12,349 feet. After my stay at Franz Josef I drove to Lake Wakatipu to do some trout-fishing, and spent happy days amid most glorious scenery. On my return to Auckland I found that the fund which had been raised for me totalled almost £2000, and felt deeply, grateful to my countrymen for their help. Whereas on my first flight round New Zealand there were no re- ' gular air Services then in operation, I now found a network of airways extending over the entire length of the Dominion, and speedy services linked the North Island and the South, enabling people to travel in speed and comfort. For the comparatively small population of less than 2,000,000 people 1 I considered this network of airways 1 a great achievement. Within the space ( of a few years aviation had made tremendous strides, and the majority of the people were very air-minded. During Christmas I enjoyed a holiday in company with my mother and father, and we drove to Rotorua, my i birthplace, where a reception was to be held by the Maori tribes. At this re- j ception many spirited hakas were danced by the Maori men, and the • pretty raven-haired Native girls performed skilful poi dances, in which they twirl tiny balls on the ends of strings, keeping perfect time, and the beat on the pois on their flaxen skirts forms a soft accompaniment to their singing. I was presented with a valuable kiwi feather mat which had once belonged to a chieftain and given the ; picturesque name of Hine-o-te-Rangi— J "Daughter of the Sky." , REWARDS OF ACHIEVEMENT. 1 Great was my joy when I received • news of three important trophies that ; had been awarded to me for my New : Zealand flight. For the second year in succession the Royal Aero Club had 1 awarded me the Britannia Trophy for 1 the most meritorious flight of the year ' by a British subject. The Segrave ' Trophy for the most outstanding de- ' monstration of the possibilities of transport on land, sea, or in the air, J had also been awarded to me by unani- ' mous vote of a committee representa- i tive of aviation, motoring, and the Press. This was a very great honour, and I felt that my dearest wish would be realised when a speedy air servicc was inaugurated between England and New Zealand. It was announced shortly afterwards that I had won the Harmon International Trophy for the greatest flight of the year by an airwoman and that the trophy for air- • men was to go to Howard Hughes, the

MISS BATTEN SHOWERED WITH HONOURS

;n: Copyright.) famous American flyer. This was the second time I had won the Harmon Trophy, for the previous year I had held it jointly with the great American airwoman Amelia Earhart, whom I had always wanted to meet, and who only a few months later lost her life so tragically. I stayed some time in Auckland renewing old friendships, and felt that it was indeed good to be home again. Lazing away the hours sunbathing on the golden sands of wide beaches and swimming in the clear blue waters, I let the world roll by for . a little and felt utter contentment. It had been my intention to settle in New Zealand after my flight, but sometimes I found myself gazing out over the blue Tasman, as I had so often done as a child, and longing to go forth again. "Why not rest on your laurels and settle down?" many of my friends suggested. "After all, you have had more than your share of success. Apart from your records, remember you are the first woman to fly back from England to Australia and back, to fly from England to South America, to cross the South Atlantic Ocean, and the first airwoman to fly from England to New Zealand and conquer the Tasman. No one can ever take these distinctions from you, so what is the use of going on and on until eventually your luck deserts you and disaster overtakes you?" "Yes, Yes, I knoW, J ' I would say, determined to take the wise advice, and, putting all ideas of further flights from my mind, would thereupon make preparations to settle down. It seemed that all through my life I had been forced to make these big decisions, and usually alone. I wanted very much to settle down in my own country and lead a calm, peaceful life, but in my heart I knew only too well that I was destined to be a wanderer. I seemed born to travel, and in flying I found the combination of the two things which meant everything to me: the intoxicating drug of speed and freedom to roam the earth. In my innermost thoughts I knew the fire of adventure that burned within me was not yet quenched, and that urge was drawing me on—to what?