Batten family say remains should stay

Descendants of the great New Zealand pilot Jean Batten have installed a plaque at her Spanish gravesite — and say her remains should be left where they lie.

Batten, who shattered longdistance solo flying records in the 1930s, died a lonely death on November 22, 1982, on the Mediterranean i sland of Majorca. She became infected by a dogbite but refused medical help. For t wo months her body lay unclaimed in a mortuary in Palma before she was buried in a communal grave, joining the remains of dozens of penniless Spaniards.

In the decades since, campaigns have surfaced to repatriate her remains, driven partly by her final wishes. The latest is a blogsite called “Bring Jean home”.

But her great- nephew Ron Batten believes she should stay undisturbed in the Palma municipal cemetery.

Three months ago, Batten made a pilgrimage to Palma. With the agreement of her other descendants he installed a tile at the grave beside a bronze memorial put up by the New Zealand Government in 1989.

A dairy farmer, Batten placed the family tribute without permission of cemetery managers. “I was intending to but they were more than happy that we gave her plaque a polish up.”

The Batten family plate includes a note of thanks to the late writer and film- maker Ian Mackersey. Author of