Browser issue

It looks like the browser you're using doesn’t work well with our website. For a better experience, please update to the latest version of Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari.

$5 banknote

The $5 banknote features Sir Edmund Hillary on the front and the yellow eyed-penguin (hoiho) on the back.

Published:

06 August 2024

Series 7

Front of $5 banknote — Front of Series 7 $5 banknote

Back of $5 note — Back of Series 7 $5 banknote

Series 6

What's on the $5 banknote

Dimensions: 135 mm (length), 66 mm (height)

Front

The front of the $5 note has a portrait of Sir Edmund Hillary. In 1953, he and Tenzing Norgay were the first to reach the summit of the world’s tallest mountain, Mount Everest.
Sir Edmund Hillary has featured on the New Zealand $5 note since 1992, which at the time made him the only living person who was not a head of state to feature on New Zealand cash.
Next to Sir Edmund Hillary's portrait is Mt Cook (Aoraki) - New Zealand’s highest mountain. It was also one of Sir Edmund Hillary’s favourite mountains.

Back

The hoiho (yellow eyed penguin) is on the back of the $5 note.
Other design features include the tukutuku kaokao, Campbell Island and New Zealand fauna: Campbell Island daisy (pleurophyllum speciosum) and Ross lily (Bulbinella rossii).

Use our interactive banknote

Learn more about the design features on Series 7 banknotes using our interactive banknote.

Current banknotes

$10 banknote

The $10 banknote features Kate Sheppard on the front and the blue duck (whio) on the back.

$20 banknote

The $20 banknote features Queen Elizabeth II on the front and the New Zealand falcon (kārearea) on the back.

$50 banknote

The $50 banknote features Sir Apirana Ngata on the front and the kōkako (blue wattled crow) on the back.

$100 banknote

The $100 banknote features Lord Rutherford of Nelson on the front and the yellowhead (mōhua) on the back.