Heraldry enthusiasts have told republicans to keep their hands off Canberra's coat of arms, whatever they think of its relevance.
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But the Heraldry Special Interest Group agrees it's time for the ACT, as opposed to the city of Canberra, to have its own arms.
A group of residents, all prominent republicans, are campaigning to create the territory's first heraldic emblem, and use it instead of the Canberra arms, which currently flies on the ACT flag.
The city's coat of arms was designed in 1927 and uses mediaeval imagery, such as castles, swords and maces, to reflect the Parliament and nearby institutions.
At the time, its creator, C. R. Wylie, said he had used European and British symbols because the local, natural imagery ''lacked dignity''.
One of the campaigners, Terry Fewtrell, described the city's arms last week as a ''great lost opportunity''.
''It's a travesty that nothing in it reflects the real Canberra. It is neither Australian, nor reflective of the people and the place that we live in,'' Mr Fewtrell said.
However, the heraldry group's secretary, Geoff Kingman-Sugars, said the city's coat of arms was part of our heritage, reflecting the Westminster tradition and Australia's constitutional monarchy.
''Leave the Canberra arms alone, at least until we become a republic - then we might discuss change.''
But he agreed it was wrong that the ACT flag comprised ''cherry-picked'' design elements and had incorporated the heraldry for Canberra.
The ACT needed its own coat of arms, he said, and the first step was to establish an official Australian heraldry authority.
Britain's College of Arms ceased to have authority over Australian emblems in 1986, but it has not yet been replaced by a local institution.
Mr Kingman-Sugars said heraldry was as meaningful today as it was 1000 years ago.
''Heraldry came about in an age when people were largely illiterate - the symbols were powerful. But it's just as important these days. People rely on visual identification. It's how we work.''
He said an Australian authority, once established, could help Canberrans design a meaningful ACT coat of arms, ''rather than leaving it to people in London''.
Chief Minister Katy Gallagher said on Sunday she discussed the idea of an ACT coat of arms with centenary historian David Headon last week.
''He said he was very interested in doing more research on this,'' she said. ''We're now considering writing to the College of Arms to work out what would need to be done if we are going to have an ACT coat of arms.''
