In 1846 a royal charter split New Zealand into two provinces: New Munster and New Ulster (named after Irish provinces). New Munster included Stewart, the South and lower North islands; New Ulster comprised the rest of the North Island. Each province had its own government, overseen by the central government, which was based in Auckland. This changed with the passage of the Constitution Act 1852 and the setting up of six provincial governments.

These are the seals of New Zealand, New Ulster and New Munster. The New Zealand seal showed an English settler and a Māori chief standing opposite each other. The New Ulster seal featured a waka (canoe) on the open sea with Mt Taranaki (Mt Egmont) in the background, and the New Munster seal showed whalers chasing a whale. Both included the royal arms.