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

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated via phone at the local court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of damaging property.

Officials commented at the time of the recent event, the local council explained that CCTV footage captured a person putting artificial eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and told the judge she was unwell, according to news outlets, with the magistrate advising her to find a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December.

A day after the reported event, the local mayor stated that repairs to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive 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,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those members of our society who have embraced Cast in Blue.”

She added the council would seek the “significant” repair costs from those responsible for the damage.

When the sculpture was first proposed, it drew varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and design.

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork depicts a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater found in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.