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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 mythical creature by affixing googly eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, appeared via phone 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 moment of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that CCTV footage captured a person placing fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.

Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and told the court she was unwell, as reported by media sources, with the magistrate advising her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in December.

The following day the reported event, the city leader stated that restoration to the popular community sculpture would be costly as the stickers could not be detached without harming the sculpture.

“This wilful damage to a cherished community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said 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.”

She said the council would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those responsible for the vandalism.

When the sculpture was initially suggested, it received mixed reactions from the local community due to its price tag and appearance.

Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; £68,000), the artwork depicts a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial found in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.