It was there that her beauty first spellbound her handsome prince, Karitoki.
If all myths contain human truths, what are Pania's? When we pause before her statue what meanings can she still reveal?
Mermaid legends worldwide frequently tell cautionary tales about being caught between worlds. Or life choices: "Do I stay or do I go" dilemmas for unhappy couples, migrants caught between cultures, all of us tempted to possess beloveds.
A common-thread wisdom of "never-look-back" myths or biblical accounts, is the advantages of avoiding nostalgia for worlds that can never be – and of faithful commitment in a less-than-perfect world.
But Pania's story is different to others about the allure and danger of mermaid's beauty.
Females who have to leave first families to fit into male-dominated domains may find food for thought. Whether seen from her point of view, her lover Karitoki's or her sea people's – whom the plaque beneath her informs us "lured" her back home – Pania's story expresses dilemmas many women must resolve.
And while socio-biology theorises that the reason all infants at first resemble their fathers was originally to prevent infanticide, the Pania myth can also be read as caution against all possessiveness.
Karitoki's fears about the birth of their hairless son, Moremore, may be revealing not just of primitive male jealousies but also of a natural desire to want a wife to be a fulltime part of his community.
Art reduced to morality tales is preaching. Successful public art invites many possible meanings. But as local art historian Jess Mio pointed out recently, these are not infinite – and are at best reflective of common identities.
Sculptures can reflect who we are and where we come from, while encouraging thought about how we can be.
Many mermaid stories reflect our dual natures and a desire for some form of immortality. They usually end in some tragedy. For example, in 1837 Hans Christian Anderson re-mythologised his mermaid to have her rescuing her handsome prince from a dangerous sea. He has her achieve immortality by kindnesses and self-sacrifice – even though it means she loses her prince to a more worldly competitor.
Whether Pania is seen as an eternal influence for sea fertility or a victim of the treachery of Karitoki – in one version he is motivated by desire to boast of his trophy wife to male friends – depends on your perspective and values.
As the Roman poet Horace put it more than 2000 years ago when suggesting a solution to being made to feel false loyalties: "Ubi bene, ibi patria" ("Where it is well, there is one's country.")
In her mythical sea country, Pania's immortality is expressed in abundant reef fertility guaranteed by her son's transformation into a sea kaitiaki: shark, stingray or octopus.
This is an interpretation that may appeal to inshore fisherpersons and to all working to restore healthy oceans.
* Steve Liddle is a researcher and independent journalist based in Napier.
