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A young person from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after allegedly vandalizing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing googly eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, appeared via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, charged with a single charge of damaging property.

Officials commented at the time of the recent event, the local council said that surveillance video captured a individual putting fake eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and informed the judge she was ill, as reported by media sources, with the magistrate advising her to secure a legal representative before her next court date in December.

A day after the reported event, the city leader stated that restoration to the popular public artwork would be costly as the adhesive eyes could not be detached without damaging the art piece.

“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have embraced Cast in Blue.”

She added the local government would pursue the “substantial” repair costs from those responsible for the damage.

At the time the artwork was first proposed, it drew mixed reactions from the local community due to its cost and design.

Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture represents a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an ancient anteater-like marsupial found in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.