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

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated remotely at the local court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, facing with one count of damaging property.

In a statement at the moment of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that CCTV footage showed a individual placing fake eyes on the artwork, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.

Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and told the court she was unwell, as reported by media sources, with the judge advising her to secure a legal representative before her next court date in the final month of the year.

A day after the reported event, the local mayor said that restoration to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be removed without harming the art piece.

“This wilful damage to a cherished 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 frustrating to those members of our society who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”

The mayor added the local government would pursue the “significant” restoration expenses from those accountable for the vandalism.

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

Priced at A$136,000 ($89,000; £68,000), the artwork depicts a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.