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A young person from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after reportedly vandalizing a sizable blue sculpture of a mythical creature by affixing googly eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of damaging property.

In a statement at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities explained that CCTV footage captured a person putting artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.

The accused made no plea and informed the court she was unwell, according to news outlets, with the judge advising her to secure a legal representative before her next court date in December.

A day after the alleged incident, the city leader stated that restoration to the popular community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers were impossible to be detached without damaging the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism to a valued public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our society who have embraced Cast in Blue.”

The mayor said the local government would seek the “significant” restoration expenses from those accountable for the damage.

When the artwork was first proposed, it received mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and appearance.

Priced at A$136,000 ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the creators inspired by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial found in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.