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A young person from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after reportedly vandalizing a large blue sculpture of a legendary being by applying googly eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, appeared remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on Tuesday, charged with a single charge of property damage.

Officials commented at the moment of the recent event, the municipal authorities said that CCTV footage showed a individual putting fake eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and informed the judge she was ill, according to news outlets, with the magistrate recommending her to find a legal representative before her next court date in the final month of the year.

A day after the reported event, the city leader said that restoration to the popular public artwork would be costly as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without damaging the sculpture.

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

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

At the time the artwork was first proposed, it received varied responses from the local community due to its price tag and appearance.

Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork depicts a legendary giant animal, with the creators inspired by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.