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

Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, appeared remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, charged with one count of property damage.

Officials commented at the time of the recent event, the local council explained that CCTV footage showed a individual putting fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.

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

The following day the reported event, the local mayor said that restoration to the popular community sculpture would be costly as the stickers could not be removed without harming the art piece.

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

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

When the artwork was initially suggested, it received mixed reactions from the local community due to its cost and appearance.

Costing A$136,000 ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.