Jean Gardner Batten was a New Zealand aviatrix.
Born in Rotoura on September 15, 1909 Jean Gardner Batten was a New Zealand aviatrix. She became the best-known New Zealander of the 1930s, internationally, by making a number of record-breaking solo flights across the world.
It was said that Jean Batten took the skies by storm and brought the winds of change with her. After two failed attempts to fly from England to Australia, Jean made her comeback with a record-breaking return journey in 1934, where she smashed, by six days, Amy Johnson's flight time between England and Australia.
The following year, she was the first woman to make the return flight. In 1936, she made the first ever direct flight between England and New Zealand with her black cat 'Buddy' and then the fastest ever trans-Tasman flight. She was the 'Garbo of the Skies', stood for adventure, daring, exploration and glamour. In her time, she was one of the most famous people in the world.
She described the moment the wheels hit the turf as "the very greatest moment of my life," proving to the world that the sky's only the limit if you let it.
Today google doodle celebrates her 107th birthday with her sitting on a wing of an airplane holding her black cat. Today's google doodle is a reminder to fly fiercely towards our boldest dreams.