The first Chatham Islands banknotes were issued in 1999, when the Reserve Bank of New Zealand authorized a private organization, the Chatham Islands Note Corporation, to issue banknotes to commemorate Chatham Islands being the first land to enter the third millennium.

The Chatham Islands Note Corporation issued 2 series of banknotes before it went out of existence in 2003. The Series I notes were printed in late 1999 in time for release on January 1, 2000 in denominations of $2, $3, $10 and $15. The Series II notes were printed some time during the year 2000 for release in 2001 in denominations of $3, $5, $8, $10 and $15.

These Chatham Islands notes were generally accepted by merchants on the Chatham Islands. The Chatham Islands dollar was pegged at the same rate as the New Zealand dollar.

The Chatham Islands are an archipelago and New Zealand territory in the Pacific Ocean consisting of about ten islands within a 40 kilometres (25 mi) radius, the largest of which are Chatham Island and Pitt Island. The Moriori name means Misty Sun. These remote islands, over 800 kilometres (500 mi) east of southern New Zealand, have officially been part of New Zealand since 1842.