Pania of the Reef, Napier (2024) - Images, Timings

Pania of the Reef, Napier Overview

Pania of the Reef on Marine Parade, Napier is a bronze statue of the Māori mythical figure Pania, whose love story continues to charm the locals and tourists here even today. This statue was put up in the year 1954 by the Thirty Thousand Club after Vic Wallis and Horace Cottrell, two of the club’s senior members, heard the story of Pania and came up with the idea to build the statue.

In a story lined with mythical creatures and romance drama, the Māori legend of Pania breathes today in the form of a bronze statue in Napier, New Zealand. The figure of 'Pania of the Reef' first came as an idea to Vic Wallis and Horace Cottrell of the Thirty Thousand Club after they heard it from the first Bishop of Aotearoa while he was visiting Napier. With the base in a limestone setting, the face of the statue was chosen from amongst six girls from the Hukarere Māori Girls' College, and it was fifteen-year-old Mei Robin who got the privilege to be Pania's face for the statue.
Located on 56 Marine Parade, Napier, New Zealand, this attraction is one of the most famous in the city and is believed to have kept alive the heartbreaking story of the beautiful Pania. Even today, the fishers there believe she lies beneath the reef where she can be seen at times of low tides.

Legend

One of the most iconic sights in Napier is of the bronze Pania of the Reef statue that adorns the Marine Parade. The story behind the statue is one of lovelorn and love lost. The legend goes that a beautiful maiden, Pania that used to swim in the waters during the day and went to meet her lover during the night. She had to go back to where she was from as dawn broke each day otherwise she would not survive. Frustrated by this, her lover fed her some cooked food while she was asleep, which would not allow her to go back to the sea. Creatures of the sea were not allowed to consume cooked food, lest they be not allowed to go back to the sea.

Heartbroken by this act of betrayal that endangered her life, Pania went back to the sea, never to be seen again. The bronze statue is a manifestation of the many sightings of Pania out at sea, arms outstretched, imploring her lover for an explanation on his betrayal.

How To Reach Pania of the Reef

You can take Bus number 15, run by the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, from the opposite of Napier Health Centre till MTG Hawke’s Bay, after which it is about a one minute walk to the statue. If you plan to drive here, take the route via Tennyson street or via Vautier street and Marine Parade.